Restrictions hits first day of Indo-Bangla border haat

Shillong, July 28 (PTI) The transaction on the first day of the revived 'haat' along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya was hit by restriction on selling goods produced beyond five km from the location of the trading centre. A government official said some Bangladeshi traders yesterday brought goods which were produced beyond the five km radius and as such did not have the requisite certificate from their district administration. "Goods like garments and melamine products were not allowed to be sold due to unavailability of the documents of the district administration certifying that they were produced within a five km radius of the haat," deputy commissioner Sanjay Goyal told PTI. "Many traders, especially from Bangladesh side were disappointed. The transaction was also very little due to this factor," the official said. The turn-out of traders from the Bangladesh side at the haat was good, but from Meghalaya only about a dozen of them participated due to heavy rains on this side, official sources said. Locals said there were some transactions under the barter system and that a section of Bangladeshi customers bought Indian currency, though this was not recorded. The Border Haat Management Committee is likely to write to the government asking it to relax the format with regards to the eligibility of the goods that can be traded.