GUWAHATI: The border trade and immigration centre along the India-Bangladesh boundary, which had been closed since the outbreak of COVID-19 four years ago, formally reopened in Assam’s South Salmara district on Thursday.
The reopening ceremony was attended by Mankachar’s AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam along with senior district officials.
Islam said that the closure of the centre had caused great difficulties for students, traders, and even patients coming for medical treatment from the neighbouring country to the state.
For the past four years, residents of lower and central Assam were forced to travel to Bangladesh via Meghalaya’s Dawki or Kolkata, causing significant inconvenience, he stated.
He further said the reopening of this centre will facilitate smoother cross-border movement and trade between the two countries.
Assam now has two functional immigration centres for Bangladesh — one at Sutarkandi in Karimganj district, which also remained closed during the pandemic but reopened later, and the other at Mankachar.
Assam shares a 262-km-long border with Bangladesh.
