Unstable situation in Bangladesh adds to uncertainty about reopening of border haats across NE region

The five ‘Border Haats’ -- two in Tripura and three in Meghalaya -- have remained closed for a long time, and their prospects are uncertain amid the volatile situation in Bangladesh, officials said on Sunday. 

These 'Border Haats' (border markets) along the India-Bangladesh borders have remained closed since March 2020 after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns. However, three ‘Border Haats’ in East Khasi Hills district and South West Garo Hills district in Meghalaya reopened in 2022, and the south Tripura border market reopened in May last year. But, these border markets again closed after the violence in Bangladesh began in June-July last year, especially after the fall of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5, 2024.

A senior official of the Tripura Industries and Commerce Department said in Agartala that before the unrest began in Bangladesh in June-July last year, district administration officials of the concerned districts of the two countries held a series of meetings to reopen the ‘Border Haats’, but there has been no positive progress after that.

In the weekly border market, on average, at least 25 to 27 vendors, including women from both sides of the border, sell their products and various items.

The first ‘Border Haat’ was inaugurated in 2011 between the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya at Kalaichar and Kurigram in Bangladesh. Subsequently, other ‘Border Haats’ were set up in Meghalaya and Tripura.

According to Indian officials, before the unrest in Bangladesh started, the governments of the two countries had approved 10 more ‘Border Haats’ along the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura and Meghalaya. Out of them, six are in Meghalaya, and four are in Tripura.

Both the Indian and Bangladeshi governments were earlier keen to reopen more ‘Border Haats’ in the four northeastern states -- Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram, which share a 1,880-km border with Bangladesh to boost the local economy and increase the income of the border villagers.