Informing this here today, Meghalaya Chief Secretary Ranjan Chatterjee told reporters that the two countries had formally agreed to reopen border haats along the Indo-Bangladesh border at their Foreign minister-level meeting held last month.
India used to have free border trade and weekly haats with the erstwhile East Pakistan but they were closed down years later after creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Chatterjee said that five border haats the State is sharing with Bangladesh would be reopened and among those are Borsora, Shella and Dawki, all in Khasi Hills and two in Garo Hills including Gasuapara.
The decision to reopen border haats comes with New Delhi also pressing for a transit route through Bangladesh to carry goods from one part of India to another. India has also agreed to invest in transport infrastructure in the neighbouring country. As negotiations are under way for cooperation in the transport sector, mainly railways, the two countries are scheduled to sign a deal in May 2010 on India’s access to the Ashuganj Port in Bangladesh that it wants to use to transport heavy equipment for a power plant in Tripura. Residents either side of the border had been calling for reopening the border haats, on the plea that this would improve their living condition and that this was vital for the socio-economic development of the area and its people. Villagers were in favour of reopening of border haats since agricultural products, most of which are perishable in natutre, and which therefore cannot be ferried to as far away as in Shillong and other towns, could be disposed off locally in the haats. Besides, according to the villagers, the border haats once symbolized the people’s life style and served as a meeting place for all not only to exchange merchandise, but also to exchange greetings and ideas, besides sharing problems of each other. Till 1971, the border residents from Bangladesh used to come to the hillside for exchange of goods. But in 1974, the border haats were closed down, while another haat (market) at Nongjri was closed over ten years back.
History has it that border haats in Meghalaya were functional from the Mughal period. Even during the eighteenth century (British Period) barter system in Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills was in practice. Oranges, chillies, turmeric, lime, honey, iron, bee’s wax, ivory, rubber, betel nuts, betel leaves, spices and potatoes from the hills were offered in exchange for rice, sugar, fish, salt, tobacco, oil, cotton clothes and spices from the plains on the other side of the border.
After Statehood, several memoranda were submitted to the Centre on the need for reopening of border haats but the matter was pending with the Centre for final clearance.
The Meghalaya Government during the tenure of the late Chief Minister BB Lyngdoh had lobbied with the Union Government to take up with Bangladesh the matter of opening of border trade. The erstwhile MPA and the present MUA government had also taken up the issue with the Centre on several occasions.
Years ago, the Government had stated that the volume of illegal trade between Meghalaya’s border villages and Bangladesh is around the same as that of formal trade. The informal trade resulting through smuggling is estimated to be worth Rs 200 crore annually while formal trade through the Meghalaya border with Bangladesh was around Rs 170 to Rs 200 crore a year. The total volume of illegal and legal trade was around Rs 400 crore, which was huge for a small state like Meghalaya.