Bhutan-BTR meet held for cross-border trade, boosting ties

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: A meeting on the cross border trade and mutual relationship was held between the leaders of Bhutan and Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) on Saturday at the Yoejung Guest House, Gelephu in Sarpang Dzongkhag.

The BTR delegation, led by MLA of Sidli Jayanta Basumatary, was accompanied by BTR Executive Member (EM) Ranjit Basumatary, MCLA Madhav Chandra Chetri and other officials.

Sources said both sides discussed border trade and strengthening of mutual relationship between the two neighbours.

Bhutan opened the entrance gate at the border on September 23 last after a period of over two years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The flow of hundreds of tourists from India is being seen daily at the entry gate after its re-opening.

MLA Jayanta Basumatary said after the meeting that he was overjoyed to participate in the official delegation meet between the officials of BTR and Bhutan. "We are confident that this meeting will help both sides to understand the mutual relationship better and boost our cross-border trade".

He also said as the friendship of BTR with Bhutan is as strong as a rock, they will work to keep this relationship alive forever. The MLA appreciated their Bhutanese counterparts for their hospitality and attention to the agenda of the meeting.

Meanwhile, tourists have expressed unhappiness over the sorry state of roads on the Indian side which lead to Bhutan, mainly Gelephu and Sarpang which shares borders with the Chirang and Kokrajhar districts in BTR. The Samthaibari (NH-31 C) to Gelephu road, which is around 35 km on the Indian side, is in a dilapidated state since long.

The department concerned repaired it from Samthaibari to Bhur Tinali, around 15 km, after long time but now the same road is almost broken in every portion from Daosri to Gelephu. The vehicles of both Indian and Bhutan move with great risk. Once the tourists reach Gelephu and return they never want to go back to Gelephu because of the sorry state of the road. The Bishmuri and Sarpang road in the Kokrajhar district is also in extremely bad condition.

Earlier, there was very good surface communication between the eadquarter of Sarpang Dzongkhag in Bhutan and Kokrajhar and there was also a private transport services from Sarpang to Kokrajhar. However, due to poor road communication the service subsequently stalled and consequently cross-border trade has become a distant dream. The flow of trade in Gelephu has also become poor due to bad road communication.

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