SYLHET, Sept 23: Work on setting up of five new border haats along the Sylhet's border with the Indian states of Meghalaya and Tripura has been going on in full swing, officials informed.
The new border haats would help increase the border trade in the region, said the commissioner of Customs, Excise and VAT, Sylhet circle, Golam Munir.
There had been a long standing demand for these, since the habitats concerned are backward, with poor road link, he added.
Moulvibazar district Deputy Commissioner Nazia Shirin and other officers last week visited the sites of the proposed border haat at Kurma in Komolganj upazila. It would be ready by December, sources said.
Meanwhile, Assistant Indian High Commissioner, Sylhet, L Krishnamurti visited the site of the under-construction border haat at Meghaalaya-Sylhet frontier at Shahidabad (Laurergar) under Tahirpur upazila of Sunamganj district last week.
The envoy held a brief meeting with the locals, BGB's Battalion Assistant Director Mahbub Rahman, upazila chairman Karuna Sindhu Chowdhury and others there.
L Krishnamurti said, "80 per cent progress have been achieved in the preparatory works on the proposed haat. Hopefully we would be able to complete things in months and the haat would start operating in December."
Of the haats, the Bholaganj border haat would be the first of its kind in Sylhet district, which is also set to start functioning in December this year.
With a target to see things for themselves, the members of Bangladesh-India joint border committee visited the sites in April this year, an official said.
The officials said steps were on for long for setting five new haats along the Sylhet division's border with Meghalaya and Tripura. Among them one at Bholaganj would start functioning in December while the others would start at Kurmaghat in Komolganj and Pashchim Botuli of Juri upazila in Moulvibazar, Shohidabad of Tahirpur and Bhogla Baganbari of Doarabazar upazila in Sunamagnj districts.
However, the first border haat in the region was set years ago on Dolura at Sunamganj-Meghalaya frontier.
Additional Secretary to Ministry of Commerce Md Shafiqul Islam led the 16-men Bangladesh team while BS Balla, additional secretary of Indian commerce ministry headed the nine-member team of Indian officials during their joint visit to the sites months ago.
Officials of both sides had discussed and finalised the development of overall progress in setting the new border haats at Meghalaya- Sylhet and Tripura-Sylhet frontiers.
It was the follow up visit to Bangladesh side after the last year's one took place in India.
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