Table of Contents
BACKGROUND
India and Bangladesh on 23 October 2010 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Border Haats and Border Trade along the India-Bangladesh border.
The first Border Haat (market) along Tripura Bangladesh frontier was opened on 13 January 2015.
WHAT ARE BORDER HAATS?
•They are market places organised by the two countries one day each week.
•It is not only a market for buying daily commodities but also a reunion spot for families living on both sides.
OPERATIONAL BORDER HAATS BETWEEN INDIA AND BANGLADESH
• Currently, four border haats are operational along the India-Bangladesh border.
•Two border haats are located in Meghalaya at Kalaichar and Balat and two are located in Tripura at Srinagar and Kamalasagar.
HOW IT FUNCTIONS?
•The trade at border haats is permitted to be carried out in Indian Rupees/Bangladesh Taka and on a barter basis, and data of such trade is maintained by the Haat Management Committee of the respective border haat.
THE FOLLOWING COMMODITIES ARE TRADED IN THE BORDER HAATS:
• Vegetables, food items, fruits, spices. • Minor Forest produce eg bamboo, bamboo grass and broom sticks, excluding timber.
• Products of Cottage Industries like Gamcha, Lungi etc.
• Small Agriculture household implements eg dao, plough, axe, spade, chisel etc.
• Garments, melamine products, processed food items, fruit juice, toiletries, cosmetics, plastic products, aluminium products, cookeries.
NOTES
•There are no border haats in operation along the Bhutan and Myanmar borders
FUTURE •According to government data, cash trade equivalent to ₹1,68
FUTURE
•According to government data, cash trade equivalent to ₹1,686.62 lakh took place at these four haats between 2010 and 2016.
• Six more border haats have been approved along the Indo-Bangladesh border, two in Tripura, at Palbasti and Kamalpur, and four in Meghalaya, at Bholaganj, Nalikata, Shibbari and Ryngku.
BANGLADESH–INDIA BORDER
•Bangladesh and India share a 4,156 km (2,582 mi)- long international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world, including 262 km (163 mi) in Assam, 856 km (532 mi) in Tripura, 180 km (110 mi) in Mizoram, 443 km (275 mi) in Meghalaya, and 2,217 km (1,378 mi) in West Bengal.
BORDER
•The India-Bangladesh international border 3,026 km is fenced. The unfenced locations often fall in the riverine areas of the border or in village areas where land acquisition is difficult for the government.
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