border haat
Representative image.

Seven more border haats are coming up in Tripura- Bangladesh border to add to the two existing ones in Kamalasagar and Srinagar, a state industry official said on Saturday.

They will come up in Bamutia, Hiracherra, Amlighat, Hrisyamukh, Boxnagar, Rasyabari and Akinpur.

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โ€œ60 percent of the work is complete on these four border haats,โ€ said Swapna Debnath, Joint Director of Tripuraโ€™s Industry and Commerce Department.

The volume of trade in the existing border haats have risen sharply, she said.

โ€œThis is benefiting the border population and so there is a growing demand for border haats in the state,โ€ she said while speaking at a workshop on border haats organised by CUTS international.

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CUTS is finalizing a two year project on border haats to look at their potential for improving border region economies and whether they could be useful starting blocks for a more comprehensive border regime in years to come.

โ€œThe Indian and Bangladesh governments are keen to expand the number of border haats but there are challenges as much as prospects which we want to highlight with our research,โ€ said CUTS executive director Bipul Chatterji.

He said this arrangement will remain relevant for distant border regions who donโ€™t have market access in their own states.

Border haats, now numbering four (two in Tripura and two in Meghalaya), have led to a growing number of women entrepreneurs in these two states.

โ€œThere is clearly a gender dimension to the border haats but we want facilities there to be more gender friendly,โ€ said Nazneen Ahmed, senior fellow at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.

Bangladesh additional director Monoj Ray said his government has cleared 22 border haat locations with four border Indian states.

โ€œMy government is keen to have more border haats with India, โ€ he said.

This arrangement brings together border populations and curbs informal trade but does not undermine formal trade, said Pritam Banerjee of the Asian Development Bank.

Subir Bhaumik is a Kolkata-based senior journalist. He can be reached at: [email protected]