After  Modi Hasina visit , India and Bangladesh decided to set up the 'Border Haats' to boost local trade and for people-to-people contact.

“The procedures what are following at Srinagar border haat will be followed at Kamalpur border haat to smooth function of border haat”, DM Dhalai said.

Earlier Minister Tapan Chakroborty said, “The second ‘border haat’ of the State, built at a cost of Rs 2.44 crore is ready at Kamalasagar, bordering the Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh, about 28 km from here and an LCS at Srimantapur, bordering Comilla district of the neighbouring country, about 52 km from here are now ready for inauguration. We would soon invite Commerce and Industry ministers of Government of India and Bangladesh.”

However it worthy to be mentioned here that the first border ‘haat’ or market along the Tripura-Bangladesh frontier at Srinagar in South Tripura district, about 140 km from here, was inaugurated on January 13. Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Bangladeshi counterpart Tofile Ahmed had jointly inaugurated the first border haat along the Tripura-Bangladesh border. Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and MP Jiten Chowdhury were also present on the occasion.

The officials said, "We expect that the trade between Bangladesh and Tripura alone would cross Rs.500 crore annually within the next three years. There is a huge scope of increasing trade between Bangladesh and northeastern states of India." Two 'Border Haats' had already been set up in 2012 at Meghalaya's Kalaichar (India)-Baliamari (Bangladesh) and Dalora (Bangladesh)-Balat (India). Four northeastern states - Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam - share a 1,880-km border with Bangladesh, parts of which are unfenced and run through dense forests, making it porous and vulnerable.

"If the existing border infrastructure is upgraded, the volume of trade and business between Bangladesh and northeastern states of India would be increased five to six times of the current level," the official said.

Business in the ‘haat’ would take place once a week among 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 sold in the haats and currencies of both the countries would be accepted. 

Initially 16 items were short listed 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