PTI
AGARTALA, JUNE 11
The second border haat (market) of Tripura at Kamalasagar in Sipahijala district, bordering Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh, was today opened for common people.
It was jointly inaugurated by video-conferencing from Dhaka on June 6 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina.The common border market of the two neighbors, Kamalasagar-Tarapur Simanta Haat, was made operational following a brief cultural function and chanting of the national anthem of both the countries.
Among others, Tripura’s Secretary of Industries and Commerce, M Nagaraju, District Magistrate of Sipahijala, P C Chakraborty, Mayor of Brahmanbaria, Illius Miah and officials of BSF and BGB attended the function.
Miah said, “It is a good initiative. It would enhance people to people contact at grass-root level between the two countries and boost the local trade”.
Villagers from both the countries sold and bought local products.
After setting up a border ‘haat’ (market) near the Indo-Bangla international border at Srinagar in South Tripura district on January 13 this year bordering Madhugram village of Feni district of Bangladesh, another such market at Kamalasagar in Sipahijala district, was today opened to boost bilateral trade and enhance people to people contacts.
Altogether four border haats would be operational in Tripura, Shyamal Dev, Senior Manager of Tripura Industrial Development Corporation, which is the nodal agency for setting up border haat, told PTI adding, the two others are at Kamalpur in Dhalai district and Dharmanagar in North Tripura district.
These markets are set up at the zero line of the international border with one part on the Indian side and the other in Bangladesh.
The cost of construction of the Kamalasagar haat, 28 km from here, on 150 X150 sq meters spread over two sides of the border was Rs 2.44 crore which would be borne by the Indian Ministry of Commerce.
Business in the market (haat) would take place once a week among the people living within 5 km radius of the border who would sell and buy locally produced goods and crops.
No local taxes would be imposed on the items to be sold in the haats and currencies of both the countries would prevail.
Initially 16 items were shortlisted which include agricultural and horticultural crops, spices, minor forest products excluding timber, fish and dry fish, dairy and poultry products, cottage industry items, wooden furniture, handloom and handicraft items etc, Dev said.
