With two ‘border haats’ already operational with Bangladesh, the tiny northeastern state of Tripura wants more.”We have identified possible locations. We want 100 border haats all along the border with Bangladesh,” said Tripura MP Jiten Choudhury.Choudhury was formerly Industry and Commerce Minister of Tripura before moving to the parliament in 2014.He took the main initiative for operationalising the ‘border haats’ with Bangladesh. Tripura has operationalised two ‘border haats’ at Kamalasagar and Srinagar.”Trade is picking up sharply in both the haats. We feel encouraged to ask for more,” Choudhury told journalists in Tripura. He said he has raised this demand for more ‘border haats’ in the recent session of Indian parliament. Even Meghalaya, another northeast Indian state, has asked for 22 ‘border haats’ with Bangladesh. India and Bangladesh agreed to open ‘border haats’ for encouraging local-level cross-border trade to benefit populations there.
