Small traders of Arunachal seek resumption of operation in Indo-Myanmar border haat
Mossang and many of her peers as their source of income from trading activities at Pangsau Pass in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, along the India-Myanmar border, came to a grinding halt in 2020. Not only Mossang but over 100 small traders have been facing difficulties after the border trade with Myanmar stopped with the outbreak of the pandemic.
Two years on, they are still running from pillar to post to sustain their families and pleading with the government for early resumption of border trade, which began in 2000.
For 46-year-old Mossang, the sudden halt in trading activities at Pangsau Pass came as a «shock» as she and her husband are now facing a tough time running their family.
«We are passing through a hard phase of life.
We are finding difficulties in meeting our day-to-day necessities, including electricity bills and others. Our income from other activities is not sufficient,» Mossang said.
She and her husband were engaged in border trade after 2000, and trading was their only source of income.
They earned an average of Rs 1-1.5 lakh per month.
«We could not even recover our money as we supplied commodities to the traders of Myanmar on credit,» Mossang, who used to sell vegetables, grocery items and utensils, said, while appealing to the government to initiate measures to re-open border trade.
Tenya Mossang (47), another trader from Nampong, has a similar story to tell.
«The economic conditions of many families, who were dependent on the border trade, became worse.
They are now facing difficulties to survive,» Tenya, who owns a small shop in Nampong town, said.
«Earlier, I earned an average of Rs 40,000 monthly by selling cosmetic products and food items through border trade. But now I am hardly able
