Moreh, India

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Moreh
Moreh
town, sub-division
Moreh is located in Manipur
Moreh
Moreh
Location in Manipur, India
Moreh is located in India
Moreh
Moreh
Moreh (India)
Coordinates: 24°21′06″N 94°20′32″E / 24.35172°N 94.34217°E / 24.35172; 94.34217Coordinates: 24°21′06″N 94°20′32″E / 24.35172°N 94.34217°E / 24.35172; 94.34217
Country India
StateFile:..Manipur Flag(INDIA).png Manipur
DistrictTengnoupal district
Population
 (2011)
 • Total16,847
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationMN
Websitemanipur.gov.in

Moreh is a border town located on the India–Myanmar border in Tengnoupal district of the Indian state of Manipur.[1][2]

Moreh, as a rapidly developing trade point with an integrated customs and immigration checkpoint, plays a very important role in India's Look East Policy,[3] trade and commerce under ASEAN–India Free Trade Area,[4] India-Myanmar relationship,[5] India–Myanmar–Thailand road connectivity,[6] and Trans-Asian Railway connectivity.[3][7]

Tamu in Myanmar, just across the Menal river from Moreh, is connected to Moreh via 2 road bridges: The Indo-Myanmar Friendship Bridge and a newer Moreh ICP Bridge which connects the Moreh Integrated Check Post (Moreh ICP).[8] Tamu in Myanmar connects Moreh in India to Kalewa-Yagyi-Mandalay in Myanmar and Mae Sot in Thailand through the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway.[6]

Demography[edit]

In the 2011 India census,[9] Moreh had a population of 16,847. Males were 8,670 while 8,177 were females. Moreh had an average literacy rate of 71.47%, lower than the state average of 76.94%: male literacy was around 79.52%, and female literacy was 62.88%. In Moreh, 14.58% of the population was under 6 years of age. The female sex ratio was 943 compared with the state average of 985. The child sex ratio was around 985 compared with the Manipur state average of 930.

The town is mainly inhabited by Kuki people of Manipur and sizeable population of Meitei, Nepali, Tamil, Punjabi, Telugu, Muslim Pangal, Bihari, and Marwari.

Economy[edit]

Being a border trade and transit town, Moreh plays a key role in the development of the economy of the state with border haat as well as international trade. A significant portion of the economy of Moreh depends on smuggling, including illegal teak smuggled from Myanmar.[10]

Border haat[edit]

See also: India-Bangladesh Border Haat

Moreh has the local Border Haat trade, under the India-Myanmar Barter Trade mechanism, in which over 40 tradable items are listed. Major exports include cement, engineering goods, transport equipment, motor cycles, iron and steels, medicine, chemicals and allied products, cotton yarn, etc. The major items now imported from Myanmar through barter mechanism are betel nuts, turmeric, red kidney beans (Rajma), kuth roots, gram, resin, dry ginger, etc.

International trade[edit]

India's Ministry of Finance has also operationalised the "normal international trade" through Moreh Integrated Check Post (Moreh ICP).[11]

Transport[edit]

India is part of BIMSTEC, East Asia Summit, Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Asian Highway Network and the Trans-Asian Railway network and India has embarked on several Look-East connectivity projects.[12][13]

Integrated Check Post (ICP)[edit]

Moreh ICP, costing Rs. 136 crores on 18.41 hectares (45.50 acres) land near Gate No.1 within Customs notified area, facilitates speedy movement of export-import consignments under India's Look East Policy.[14] ICP has Immigration Department, Narcotics & Drug Control Department, Land Customs Department, Customs Preventive Department, Animal Quarantine, Plant Quarantine, local Police including Women Constables, Quality Certification Inspection Agencies and Export Promotion Councils, Trade Facilitation Counter and Trade related Public Bodies, Food Testing Lab, Postal Department, Forests Department, bank counter, telecom, truck parking, staff quarters, basic amenities such as canteen, truck drivers’ rest house, etc.

Airport[edit]

Imphal Airport (110 km northwest of Moreh) is the nearest airport in India. Homalin Airport (120 km north) and Kalaymyo Airport (133 km south) are the nearest airport in Myanmar.[15]

Media briefing in New Delhi on Imphal-Moreh NH-102 upgrade, 2017.

AH1 and India-Thailand Highway[edit]

See also: Asian Highway Network and India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway

Moreh is on the Asian Highway 1 (AH1),[16] which is the longest route of the Asian Highway Network, running 20,557 km (12,774 mi) from Tokyo, Japan via Korea, China, Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran to the border between Turkey and Bulgaria west of Istanbul where it joins end-on with European route E80, running all the way to Lisbon, Portugal.

India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway, 1,408 km (875 mi) long section of AH1, connects Imphal-Moreh in India with Mae Sot in Thailand via Mandalay-Kalewa-Yagyi in Myanmar.[6] It will boost India's trade and commerce with ASEAN under ASEAN–India Free Trade Area.[4][17][18][19] Imphal-Moreh route Its upgrade was already complete by 2017, however it is further being upgraded to Asian Highway Standard in 3 packages, one of which was complete and remaining 2 will be completed by 2023 as per November 2020 status update.[20] In November 2020, Bangladesh expressed interest to join this Highway.[21] India plans to upgrade route from Zokhawthar in Mizoram to Tedim in Chin State of Myanmar as an additional connect to the IMT trilateral highway.[22]

Trans-Asian Railway[edit]

Trans-Asian Railway's (TAR) Southern Corridor (also called ITI-DKD-Y), once completed, will connect Yunnan in China and Thailand with Europe via India and Turkey. As of 2021, all freight traffic from Asia to Europe goes by sea. TAR will enable containers from Singapore, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Korea to travel over land by train to Europe. The proposed route will enter India at Moreh from Tamu in Myanmar, then enter Bangladesh through Mahisasan and Shahbajpur and again enter India from Bangladesh at Gede. On the western side, the line will enter Pakistan at Attari.[7]

To bridge the missing gap in the TAR's ITI-DKD-Y route, India and Myanmar plan to interconnect their railway networks via a 346 km (215 mi) line that will extend under-construction Jiribam-Imphal line to Moreh-Tamu border and then to existing Kalay railhead in Myanmar.[23] 180 kilometres (110 mi) of the missing link, from Jiribam to Moreh-Tamu on Myanmar border, falls in India,[24][25][26][27] out of which 110 kilometres (68 mi) Jiribam–Imphal line is under construction,[28] and remaining 70 kilometres (43 mi) Imphal-Moreh line is under planning.[7][29] Japan was conducting feasibility for the 166 kilometres (103 mi) Moreh-Tamu-Kalay link in Myanmar.[30]

Jiribam–Imphal line[edit]

Jiribam–Imphal line, 111 km long line, has a likely completion date of December 2023 as per August 2021 status update.[3][28]

Imphal–Moreh-Kalay line[edit]

Imphal–Moreh-Kalay line, the Jiribam–Imphal line will be extended nearly 70 km to Moreh on the India–Myanmar border. Under the Look East policy of India, the line will be extended from Moreh to the existing railhead of Myanmar rail network at Kalay (also called Kale and Kalemyo) to form part of the ambitious Trans-Asian Railway.[3] Indian plans to extend Imphal rail link to Moreh and eventually to the Myanmar railway system, allowing onward connectivity to Thailand and China. In 2007, plan for Imphal-Moreh was expressed by India.[7][29] In January 2018, India initiated a preliminary survey to determine the feasibility of establishing a rail link parallel to the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway. Japan expressed interest in collaborating with India and funding the proposed rail link.[30]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ A border town called moreh, Indian Express.
  2. ↑ Laithangbam, Iboyaima (19 February 2014). "Border trade along Moreh in Manipur comes to standstill". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Imphal, 4th capital city in NE, to come on railway map within 27 months, Assam Tribune, 13 Sep 2021.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Highway pact after car rally". www.telegraphindia.com.
  5. ↑ "Vigil up in Manipur over influx".
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "All you want to know about Delhi to Bangkok Road Trip - Myths & Reality". Tripoto. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Trans-Asian rail connectivity: South Asian perspective, Daily Pioneer, 14 September 2021.
  8. ↑ Will checkpost at India-Myanmar border boost organised trade, The Hindu, September 12, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Moreh Population Census 2011". Census Population 2015 Data. Census Organization of India. 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  10. ↑ Inside India’s Smuggling Town at YouTube
  11. ↑ India opens two border crossing points with Myanmar, Bangladesh, Times of India, 1 Oct 2o17.
  12. ↑ "India's 'Look East' Policy Pays off". www.globalpolicy.org.
  13. ↑ India's Look East Policy (2)
  14. ↑ "Trade with Myanmar". Invest in Manipur Switzerland of the East. Directorate of Industries Government of Manipur. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  15. ↑ What is the closest airport to Moreh, gomapper.com, accessed 14 Sept 2021.
  16. ↑ New road, rail links to make Manipur gateway to SE Asia: CM, The Hindu, November 08, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Myanmar Road Project Hooks 1.8 Billion Baht From Thailand". The Irrawaddy. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  18. ↑ Myanmar to develop river ports, 2017.
  19. ↑ Asean in talks to take IMT highway up to Vietnam, 12 Dec 2017.
  20. ↑ The Trilateral Highway from India to Thailand that went on the slow lane The highway's Imphal-Moreh portion on the Indian side, however, is expected to be completed only by 2023, more than two decades after it was conceptualised Topics, Business Standard, November 18, 2020.
  21. ↑ Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, “Bangladesh wants to join India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) trilateral highway”, The Economic Times, December 18, 2020.
  22. ↑ The Role of BIMSTEC in Revitalising India’s Northeast, ORF, 23 Jun 2021.
  23. ↑ "Priority Investment Needs for the development of the Trans-Asian Railway Network" (PDF). Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  24. ↑ "Agreement on Trans-Asian railway passing through Manipur signed". Larkhawm. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  25. ↑ "India signs accord on trans-Asian railway network". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 1 July 2007. Archived from the original on 12 August 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  26. ↑ "B'desh segment of TAR route preparation shows progress". Financial Express, 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  27. ↑ "Manipur gets rail gift for Trinamul bypoll win - Tall promises of connecting all capitals of region leaves Northeast industry captains unimpressed". Calcutta, India: The Telegraph, 26 February 2011. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Jiribam-imphal rail line set for completion soon, Financial Express, 24 Feb 2020.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "The Mayhem in Manipur", The Economist, 1 May 2007.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "NHAI issues EPC contract for highway project linking India, Myanmar, Thailand". Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
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