Darranga and Gelephu

Darranga, a small township on the India-Bhutan international boundary in Tamulpur district in lower Assam, has assumed a very important role. The Government of India has officially designated the Darranga land check post as an authorised Immigration Check Post (ICP), thus marking a significant advancement for trans-border travel and regional connectivity between Assam and the tiny Himalayan kingdom. Following this declaration, all passengers holding valid travel documents will now be permitted entry into and exit from India under sub-rule (b) of rule 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950. It is important to note that located near the international border, the Darranga checkpost has long served as a critical transit point for trade and travel, particularly given Assam’s proximity to neighbouring Bhutan. Additionally, Bhutan has also benefitted by using this checkpost for the export of several of its products to Bangladesh and beyond through Assam. The establishment of a formal immigration checkpoint aligns with India’s broader strategy to strengthen border security, regulate immigration, and enhance infrastructure at key cross-border transit points. With this announcement made on Friday, Darranga, just about 75 km from Guwahati, is now all set to facilitate more streamlined immigration processes and bolster border management in the region, apart from providing a major fillip to trans-boundary trade. The new role assigned to Darranga will also bolster border management, which involves controlling and monitoring India’s border with Bhutan, apart from ensuring safe and legal movement of people and goods across borders. The declaration of Darrang as an ICP comes close on the heels of Bhutan developing Gelephu, a key town of Bhutan hardly 45 kilometres from Bongaigaon, as a regional economic hub, specifically intended at boosting trade, tourism, manufacturing, and regional connectivity. The Bhutan King had in December 2023 also announced plans to build a “Gelephu Mindfulness City” with a unique Bhutanese architectural blueprint across 1,000 sq km as a special administrative zone with separate, investor-friendly laws. The Government of India, on its part, has in the pipeline the Kokrajhar-Gelephu rail link, a 58-km railway line that will connect Assam’s Kokrajhar to Bhutan’s Gelephu. The project is being built by India and is expected to be completed by 2026. The link is intended to improve trade and tourism between the two countries.