Avik Chakraborty
Dibrugarh, July 21: Groceries, spices, vegetables and household goods once again changed hands across the India-Myanmar border on Monday as the historic Pangsau Pass Border Haat reopened after six years, reviving a decades-old trading tradition and bringing fresh hope to border communities in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district.
The reopening of the border market at Nampong, suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, marks the revival of one of the most important local trading links between India and Myanmar. Traders and shoppers from both sides of the border returned to the haat for the first time in six years, with authorities announcing that it will now be held on the 10th, 20th and 30th of every month.
The inaugural trading day saw 10 registered Indian vendors selling groceries, vegetables, spices, pulses, biscuits, toiletries, slippers, noodles, cooking oil and other daily essentials, while five traders from Myanmar crossed over with vegetables, spices, groceries and other locally produced goods.
The reopening drew an encouraging response from both sides of the border. Official figures showed 379 visitors attended the market, including 249 from Myanmar and 130 from India, underlining the importance of the border haat as both a commercial hub and a meeting point for communities separated by the international boundary.
Nampong MLA Laisam Simai described the reopening as a major step towards reviving border trade and tourism.
“Delighted to share that the market at Border Haat, Pangsau Pass, resumed after a gap of six years. It will significantly boost border tourism, strengthen trade relations between the two countries and benefit local people,” he said.
The Border Haat resumed operations after a series of coordination meetings between the Changlang district administration and the Myanmar Bazaar Committee. Security arrangements were jointly put in place by the 21 Assam Rifles, the Sub-Divisional Office at Nampong and the state police to ensure the smooth conduct of cross-border trade under a newly notified Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
The reopening was attended by MLA Laisam Simai, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Jairampur, Col. Amit Vijay Mane, Commanding Officer of 21 Assam Rifles, members of the Local Haat Management Committee and other officials.
The market operates under the Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allows residents living within a 10-km radius of the India-Myanmar border to engage in traditional local trade and cultural exchanges. Indian citizens can visit the market on designated “India Days” with the required permits, while Myanmarese villagers cross into Nampong on Fridays, observed as “Burma Day”.
The reopening is also expected to provide a fillip to tourism in the region. Pangsau Pass, located along the historic Stilwell Road, is a strategic border crossing and serves as a gateway to the Lake of No Return, a World War II landmark located about 12 km inside Myanmar that has long attracted visitors.
For local traders, however, the biggest gain is the return of a market that sustained livelihoods for generations before the pandemic brought cross-border commerce to a halt.
“After a gap of six years, the border haat has reopened and trade has started again. We are happy that we can once again do business across the border,” said a woman trader from Nampong.
For the people of Nampong and neighbouring villages across the border, Monday’s reopening was more than the return of a weekly market—it marked the revival of a shared economic and cultural lifeline that had remained silent for six years.
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