Two new border haats in the offing

The federal Indian government has cleared Tripura state authorities’ proposal for setting up a second integrated check post (ICP) along the border with Bangladesh and two new border “haats”, said an official on Tuesday.

An inter-ministerial meeting chaired by the home ministry’s secretary to border management division took the decision on Monday seeking to improve trade and bilateral relations, said Kiran Gitye, special secretary for industries and commerce of Tripura.

The Land Ports Authority of India would build the ICP at Sabroom sub-division in South Tripura. The first, the Akhaura ICP in Agartala, was set up in 2013.

The Department of Industries and Commerce has already identified 49 acres of land, including 9 acres of the government, for the second ICP project, to be directly monitored by Prime Minister’s Office for its geo-political importance, Gitye said. The Tripura government had sent the ICP proposal to the home ministry for linking a bridge over its Feni river with Chittagong division in 2016.

The Chittagong port, considered one of the best in Southeast Asia, is about 70 kilometres from the bridge that connects Tripura with Bangladesh.

Gitye, who attended Monday’s meeting, said of the two new “haats”, one would be set up at Raghna in North Tripura bordering Sylhet and another in Ghosh Khamar in South Tripura bordering Feni of Bangladesh.

The first border “haat” was set up at Srinagar in Tripura’s Sabroom in January 2015 and the second at Kamalasagar of Sipahijala district in June 2015.

People living within a 5 km radius of the border buy and sell goods and crops at the border “haat” once a week, all exempt of local taxes.

Meanwhile, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguli Das met Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb in Agartala on Monday to discuss issues such as trade and commerce and connectivity between India and Bangladesh.