That pen drive and DVD player you bought for cheap is most likely to come from Dimapur, the largest wholesale market for over Rs 500 crore-worth of goods smuggled from China into India
That pen drive and DVD player you bought for cheap is most likely to come from Dimapur, the largest wholesale market for over Rs 500 crore-worth of goods smuggled from China into India
You can buy almost anything -- from porn films, sex toys, fake Blackberry phones, music systems, video games and mobile accessories -- with a 'Made in China' label at the Hong Kong bazaar in Dimapur.
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| Hong Kong Bazaar in Dimapur is a shopper's paradise |
Comprising 400-odd tin-roofed shanties, Hong Kong bazaar has become the largest wholesale market for Chinese goods smuggled into India. It is also fast becoming a sunrise industry for hundreds of unemployed youths looking to China for employment.
Bulk deliveries are made to the small 10 sq ft shops from huge godowns in the backyard.
Dimapur has overtaken Siliguri in West Bengal that, until now, was considered the hub of smuggling activities in the Northeast. The cheap prices attract dealers from as far as Kolkata, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and New Delhi. "It is an open market. Businessmen get to make a quick buck," said Kajal Dutt, an attendant in the market. Dimapur is strategically located near the porous Indo-Myanmar border. The contraband is smuggled through the India-China border along Arunachal Pradesh.
Almost 50 per cent of the Hong Kong bazaar employees are immigrants from Bangladesh with dubious backgrounds who consort with the local mafia believed to have links with terror outfits like Harkat Ul Jehadi Islami. Insiders reveal that a large number of Bangladeshi nationals have married local girls. Even people from distant Tibet have migrated to Dimapur, the new haven for smugglers.
The market in Dimapur gained prominence after Chinese goods were banned by the All Arunachal Pradesh Student's Union (AAPSU) for sale in the State.
"We didn't want the goods to be smuggled through the porous borders, or unemployed youth getting involved with smuggling syndicates that have links with China-sponsored militants. Many of them were operating from bases in Bangladesh and Nepal. The ban has been successful. The contraband has disappeared from grey markets in Arunachal Pradesh. But the goods have found their way into nearby states," said AAPSU President Takam Tatung.
The scale of operations points to large-scale hafta paid to the local police and security agencies.
Smugglers were ousted from APItanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh, was the first choice for smugglers dealing in contraband. They could strengthen their roots in the town, because it was on the age-old trade route with China.
However, they were in for a surprise when the business was met with local protest, which turned violent with each passing day. The smugglers were left with little option but to shift their base to Dimapur. "Under the guise of doing business, China hopes to attract unemployed youth in their campaign against India. We will not allow this at any cost," says Hari Tara, a local resident.
