According to local media news platform Tribal Mirror, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Wednesday expressed serious concern over the growing unregulated cross-border trade at Zochachhuah in south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district along the route of the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTT).
Speaking in the Mizoram Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister said the project road connecting Lawngtlai with Paletwa township in southern Chin State of Myanmar passes through areas that are no longer under the control of the Myanmar government but are currently held by the Arakan Army.
He noted that the armed group maintains cordial relations with the Mizoram government and is also interested in the early completion of the project.
Lalduhoma said the increasing volume of informal trade at the border, involving traders from both Mizoram and Myanmar, has become a matter of concern for the state government.
Since the trade is not officially recognised, he added, the government currently has limited authority to regulate these activities. With Myanmar authorities currently unable to intervene in the region, he cautioned that the situation may become difficult to control.
The concerns raised in the Assembly echo issues highlighted in a recent investigative report by EastMojo, which documented growing illegal cross-border trade and the influx of undocumented migrants along the Indo-Myanmar border in Lawngtlai district.
According to the report, district authorities convened a consultation meeting on January 19 at the DC Conference Hall in Lawngtlai, chaired by Deputy Commissioner Donny Lalruatsanga, to address the situation.
Officials at the meeting noted that the increasing movement of people and goods from Myanmar into Indian territory without regulation has created administrative, security and social challenges.
The district administration said the Mizoram Home Department had directed authorities to take necessary steps to tackle the issue, including coordination with NGOs, village councils, police and security forces.
While Champhai district is widely known as a major crossing point into Myanmar, residents and officials told EastMojo that the southern border areas of Lawngtlai have increasingly become corridors for unregulated trade.
Goods such as food items, snacks, footwear and beverages are reportedly purchased in bulk from the Indian side and transported illegally into Myanmar.
In June 2024, the Central Young Lai Association imposed a ban on the movement of goods from India into Myanmar’s Rakhine State through Paletwa, alleging that supplies from Mizoram, including fuel, were indirectly aiding the Arakan Army.
Locals say the rise in informal trading networks has altered everyday life in the district.
According to district officials cited in the report, the profitability of cross-border trade has even begun to affect essential civic services, as workers increasingly shift to transporting goods instead of regular employment.
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