As India and Myanmar explore the feasibility of cross-border road and rail networks, local traders here say their potential is being underutilised due to various restrictions.
The rickety single-lane road from Imphal to Moreh neither resembles a national highway nor a border road. However, the four border check-posts of the Assam Rifles make the approach of India’s easternmost frontier obvious.
Now, as India looks towards the East for trade, this small-town, 110-km south-east of Imphal, looks forward to regain its long-lost reputation of being the gateway for trade with Southeast Asia.
| CROSS-BORDER TRADE THROUGH MOREH There is a huge market for Indian textiles and cycle parts in Myanmar and Thailand. Chinese electronic goods and Myanmar’s gems are also in good demand there India-Myanmar trade | |||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | % growth | |
| Myanmar | 207.97 | 334.42 | 60.81 |
| (% Share) | -0.11 | -0.133 | |
| India’s total export | 178,751.43 | 251,135.89 | 40.49 |
| Values in $ million Source: Ministry of Commerce | |||
Moreh may have long lost its former glory, but in Manipur the town still enjoys its reputation; made obvious by how the locals expand its name — Millions of Rupees Enter Here (Moreh).This reputation of Moreh for big money comes from the Southeast Asian trade, which traders here have been indulging in for decades, both legal and illegal.
Trade here is driven by a close-knit group of around 700 Tamil and another 15 Sikh and Marwari families, that have the reputation of knowing southeast Asia like the back of their hand. This select group of traders are able to successfully conduct trade with countries as far as Thailand, China and Vietnam.
“This trade can only be done by a select group of people who work in coordination with local groups in Myanmar,” says R K Shivachandra, who has written a book on his travels through Myanmar to China by road. “Even now, I have seen a lot of traders bring goods from Southeast Asia for the markets of Kolkata.”
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Traders usually bring goods for Indian markets from Thailand and China through the road that cuts through the whole of Myanmar. Only a few traders take the complete journey. The rest, however, trade goods with traders based in Mandalay. According to local traders here, journey till China takes more than 36 hours by bus. For China, the route followed is: Moreh-Tamu (Myanmar border)-Kalaymyo-Kalewa-Mandalay-Hsipaw-Lashio-Muse. Muse is on the Chinese side of the Sino-Burma border. This route further becomes part of the Burma Road that goes till Kunming in China. For Thailand, the route remains same till Mandalay after which traders travel through Chang Rai-Chang Mai to reach Bangkok.
“There is a huge market for Indian textiles and cycle parts in Myanmar and Thailand. Chinese electronic goods and Myanmar’s gems are in good demand here,” said S Ravichandran of the Moreh Tamil Sangam.
Recently, during the four-month long economic blockade, the Manipur government requested the Central government to allow it to import petrol and diesel from Myanmar. The request was, however, turned down by the Central government stating that the quality of fuel in Myanmar was not suited for Indian automobiles. Despite the Central government’s gag-order against import of petrol/diesel, local shops in Moreh are seen openly selling petrol and diesel that are bought from across the border.
This route is also notorious for drug trafficking. According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, medicines are smuggled from Kunming into Myanmar and then proceed from Monywa near Mandalay to Tamu/Moreh on the Indian border. The report says that from here the consignments go to exporters in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
This route is also used for trade in wildlife products such as the Rhino horn, which is smuggled from Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. Concerned over the increasing instances of cross-border trade, the government has now started installing border fencing at Moreh, but there are many porous locations from where locals make easy entry into Myanmar.
Traders here say their potential is being underutilised, as various restrictions are imposed on them. “There is a bus service between India and Pakistan, when relations between the countries are much worse than they are between India and Myanmar. Why can’t we have a cross-border bus service? We have often requested the government to increase the list of items which can be traded, but we have received no response,” said Surinder Singh Patheja, secretary, Border Trade and Chamber of Commerce. There is a feeling of injustice, too. “Even after so many years, we are still sometimes called smugglers,” said Patheja.
In recent years, with the improvement of diplomatic relations between India and Myanmar, trade between the two countries have seen a rapid increase. And the government is looking at Moreh as an important part of its relations with Myanmar and Southeast Asia. In 2010-11, India’s export to Myanmar saw a growth of more than 60 per cent against the overall export growth of 40.49 per cent.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also indicated that Moreh would be made a hub of cross-border trade with Myanmar. In October, during the visit of President of Myanmar U Thein Sein to India, both the countries discussed the feasibility of cross-border road and rail networks. Manmohan Singh was reported to have discussed with the U Thein Sein the possibility of a road linking Moreh-Mae Sot that would connect India and Thailand via Myanmar.
In October 2006, the Indian government had also proposed to build a railway-line from Jiribam to Imphal and Moreh. This railway line is part of the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Initiative. According to the assessment of Rites Limited, construction of rail-link between Jiribam-Imphal-Moreh would cost of Rs 2,941.08 crore. Construction of rail link would also be required in Myanmar between Tamu-Kalay-Segyi at a cost of Rs 1,339.02 crore and rehabilitation of existing line from Segyi-Chaungu Myohaung at a cost of Rs 283.959 crore. So far, the Indian Railways has only begun work on the Jiribam Imphal line, expected to be completed by 2016.