More integrated check posts coming up across Northeast: LPAI chief

Darranga, Nov 9: The Northeast is being given priority in terms of identifying and developing land ports along the international borders, which is bound to spur trade and commerce in the region, said Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) chairman Aditya Mishra.

Land ports are integrated stations where services and facilities like Customs, immigration, testing, and storage are made available under one roof. The first such Integrated Check Post along the Indo- Bhutan border was inaugurated on Thursday at Darranga in Tamulpur and five more are being planned along the border with the Himalayan kingdom.

"India shares a land border of around 15,000 km with seven countries. There are 90 locations e through which transit takes places. The effort of the government has been to identify more strategic and important locations and develop them," Mishra said on the sidelines of the inauguration function on Thursday. He said that the LPAI has covered 15 locations and nine others are under construction.

"Project reports for another 26 have been prepared and we have the consent of the government. In near future, 50-odd active locations will get covered," he said. Asked about the idea of land ports, Mishra said, "The rest of the border is being guarded by security forces. To ensure that there is no unauthorised crossing and smuggling, there should be proper security and legal formalities. Land ports will secure the borders and make cross-border movement of passengers and goods hassle-free."

"Integration of all services and functionalities like customs and immigration at the land ports will sort out the chaos usually associated with cross-border movement," he added. Mishra informed that in Assam, Sutarkandi land port is already functioning, and a much bigger facility is under construction there.

"Recently, we have taken over two more places in Assam- Mankachar and Golakganj. In Meghalaya, Dawki is currently functional and doing well. In Tripura, we have three functional locations, while in Manipur we have Moreh. The government is according priority to the Northeast given the friendly countries in the neighbourhood. These ports will spur growth of trade and commerce in the region," he added.

By-

Rituraj Borthakur