The border haats need to be reopened at the earliest adopting appropriate precautionary measures related to health and hygiene, said Bipul Chatterjee, Executive Director, CUTS International, according to a press release.

He came up with the demand while moderating an expert group meeting on the functioning and impacts of border haats, organised by CUTS International, India and Bangladeshi organisation Unnayan Shamannay.

The expert group meeting was part of a project supported by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development under its Asia Regional Trade and Connectivity Programme.

Experts from both India and Bangladesh participated at the webinar and provided their views and suggestions in this regard.

Researchers from CUTS International and Unnayan Shamannay presented their findings on “Border Haats between India and Bangladesh as a Tool to Reduce Informal Cross-border Trade between the Two Countries”.

‘Border Haat’ is a once-a-week semi-formal market, which allows local people from both the countries to trade different products. They are located on the zero line of the border between India and Bangladesh and each buyer is allowed to buy commodities worth up to U$ two hundred dollars a day.

At present, four of them are operational, two of which are in Tripura (namely, Kamalasagar-Kasba and Srinagar-Chhagalnaiya) and the other two in Meghalaya (namely, Balat-Dolora and Kalaichar-Baliamari).

Six more are being established along the Bangladesh’s border with the Indian states of Meghalaya and Tripura.

Also read: Announcement made to close border haat to check spread of Coronavirus