The number of travellers from Bangladesh to India has dipped as protests erupted against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, reports the Hindu on Saturday (Dec 28).
In October, India announced the easing of restrictions on visitors from Bangladesh with valid papers through land ports. However, reports suggest travel disruption and cancellations.
On Dec 29, Bangla Tribune reported a nearly 50% reduction in the flow of visitors from Bangladesh through the Hili Immigration Check Post in South Dinajpur, West Bengal.
The check post used to facilitate at least 800 visitors from Bangladesh daily earlier.
Following the protests against the CAA, sources at the Hili check post said the number of daily visitors from Bangladesh had now come down to 300. Visitors cited growing difficulties like train cancellations due to protests in different parts of India as among the reasons forcing them to travel plans.
A source in the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi told the Indian daily that the land immigration check posts were used mainly by visitors seeking Indian services close to the border.
Bangladesh officials said the dip in visitors could be for a number of reasons, including a slide in public perception of bilateral ties. One official pointed to Home Minister Amit Shah’s repeated reference to immigrants as “termites” as “hurtful to Bangladeshis”, the report added.
In October, India agreed to remove remaining restrictions for overland travellers to foster better people-to-people and business ties. India removed similar restrictions against Bangladesh air travellers in 2017.
Earlier this month, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen had cancelled his visit and a technical meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission was put off, believed to be due to unhappiness over the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act and comments made about the status of minorities in Bangladesh.
