Border Haat Brahmanbaria

Bangladesh-India Border Haat located in Kasba Upazila of Brahmanbaria District is a cross-border trade area managed on the basis of joint ownership of the two countries. On June 11, 2015, the border hut was inaugurated in the area adjacent to the Tarapur-Kamalasagar border, adjacent to pillar No. 2039 of Kasba border in Brahmanbaria. This border hut is known as a meeting place for the people of the two countries as well as buying and selling various products on one day of the week. According to Economic Survey, Indian and Bangladeshi products worth around Tk 2 crore to Tk 2.5 crore are traded from this market every six months.

At the border hut, people from within 5 km of the border are allowed to enter without a visa or passport, but traders from the surrounding districts buy Indian goods. Basically 15 different types of products from Bangladesh and 16 from India are bought and sold at Border Hut. There are 25 tin shed shops of Bangladesh on one side and 25 tin shed shops of India on the opposite side of the open space of this market bordered by a barbed wire fence. Various essential products including cosmetics, clothes, vegetables, fruits, spices, forest and cottage industry products, agricultural products, tea, aluminum products, chocolates, dry food are bought and sold in the border haat shops.

Brahmanbaria can be reached from Dhaka by Sohag, Tisha, Titas, Royal Coach, BRTC or Sohag transport buses. From Brahmanbaria district town by bus/CNG via Kasba township, you can reach the border hut at Nalapur border on foot. Besides, you can get off the Chittagong-bound train from Dhaka or Comilla at Kasba railway station and walk for a few minutes to Tarapur-Kamla Sagar Border Hut.

There are residential hotels like Hotel Sagar, Hotel Saikat, Hotel Star, Ashiq Plaza, Abakash Residential Hotel, Rahman Residential, Chandrima etc. in the road market and Jagat Bazar of Brahmanbaria.

On the way to Border Hut, retail tea and snack shops will be noticed. Kasba Upazila also has several restaurants of good quality to eat.

On a day tour from Dhaka, visit Kasba Border Hut and proceed to the nearby Akhaura Integrated Check Post. A spectacular parade of the border guards of the two countries was held here in the afternoon. There are good seating arrangements for spectators in attendance to watch the parade.

Among the places to visit in Brahmanbaria are Kalbhairava Temple, Kella Jame Shrine, Bir Shrestha Mostafa Kamal's Tomb, Dharanti Haor, Haripur Zamindar Bari and Padmabil at Ghagutia.

Feature Image: Arafat