Jumbangla Desk: After the fall of the Awami League government, the Indian Embassy in Bangladesh stopped the visa program for a few days and restarted it, but it is running on a very limited basis. At present only visa applications are being made for education and emergency treatment. The number of flights from Bangladesh to India has also halved due to visa complications in India. News from BBC Bengal

Meanwhile, as the embassies of many European countries are in India, Bangladeshi students who are interested in studying in Europe are facing a crisis. Apart from this, applicants are also struggling to get visa for treatment. Limited visas have an impact on related businesses as well.

The airline business has probably had the biggest impact, with fewer flights halved and visa complications. Three airlines of Bangladesh, NovoAir, US Bangla and Biman Bangladesh Airlines operate flights to India.
Two of these airlines have cut their flights by half, and one has stopped altogether, as passengers were unable to travel due to visa complications.

US-Bangla Airlines operated the most number of flights from Bangladesh to India. Before August 5, the company was operating a total of 32 flights a week on three routes: Dhaka-Kolkata, Dhaka-Chennai and Chittagong-Kolkata. However, since August 5, the number has come down to 12 on two routes. Air traffic on the Chittagong-Kolkata route is completely closed.

Same situation with Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Earlier 28 flights were operated weekly on Dhaka-Kolkata, Dhaka-Chennai and Dhaka-Delhi routes but currently only 13 flights are operating.

And only the Novoair flight operating on the Dhaka-Kolkata route is completely closed. Majbaul Islam, head of marketing and sales of the company, said that earlier, NovoAir used to have one daily flight from Dhaka to Kolkata, but after the decrease in passengers, it was reduced to three a week. However, the company has completely stopped flight operations from the 16th.

Those concerned say that the number of flights has decreased due to visa. US Bangla Airlines Public Relations Department General Manager Md. Kamrul Islam said, 'Those who are still traveling had earlier visas. Maybe after a few days when those visas expire, the number of flights may be reduced further, if the visa related complications are not cleared in the meantime.'

The official said that even though India has given medical visas, the number of flights to Chennai is not 'up to the mark'. Apart from this, 'flights have to be operated with 50 to 60 percent load', he said.

General Manager of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Public Relations Department Bosra Islam said, 'Passenger flow has decreased. As a result of the reduction, many flights appear to be underloaded. Then we brought it down and adjusted that if we have such a frequency, our operating cost will come up.'

However, if visas are issued again as before and the passenger pressure increases, the flights will be able to be operated as before.

Students who want to study in Europe during the crisis,
most of the European countries do not have embassies in Bangladesh. As a result, if a Bangladeshi student wants to study in European countries, he has to go to India and collect the country's visa from the embassy of that country. As a result, admitted students naturally need an Indian visa first. But in the changed situation, two days after August 5, the Indian Embassy stopped the visa process. About a week later, the country reopened visa operations on a 'limited basis'.

Generally, India grants visas to Bangladesh under 15 categories including diplomatic, business and travel. But currently, visa applications are being made from Bangladesh only for education and emergency treatment. But even in that case, the visa applicants have to get a lot of speed.

Collapse in tourism business
Last Sunday, crowds of Indian visa applicants were seen in front of Jamuna Future Park in the capital. People standing in long queues with papers in hand waiting for Indian visas. But the shops there where one can apply for Indian visa were mostly empty. A few shops were also closed.

The businessmen were saying that the business situation is very bad due to the suspension of Indian visas. Because a large part of the countries that apply for visas from these shops is India.

Talked with Farhad Hossain, the leader of an organization called Asia Tours and Travels. He said, "Earlier, only 1200 to 1500 files were prepared for India in a month, in the last one month only 100 files of 'emergency cases' have been prepared."

And could submit only eight to 10 files. The businessman also said that due to the opening of slots for a certain time, the server is down as everyone tries to enter it simultaneously. However, even if the passport is delivered five to seven days after submission, it is not received even after 15 days, he said.

More than four hundred Bangladeshi visa reviews
The Indian government is also looking into the limited number of visas being given to Bangladeshis from India. According to a news published in Indian daily The Hindu, India reviewed 434 Bangladeshi visas in August alone, even among applications made in specific categories.

In this process of PRC or Prior Referral Check, intelligence and security agencies usually check the applicant's background before issuing a visa. In the same month, 878 visas were reviewed in Pakistan, the report said.

Impact on India's local business
According to the information of the Ministry of Tourism of India, Bangladesh was the top tourist destination in the country in the first six months of 2024, accounting for 21.55 percent of the total foreign tourists in the country. As a result, it is not only Bangladeshis who are suffering due to non-grant of visas. The businessmen associated with the tourism sector of India are also facing problems due to the limited visa program.

Rajesh Ahuja, a businessman from Kolkata, told BBC Bangla, "The incident that happened in Bangladesh was a shock in the beginning. For the first few days, we can clearly see that people come less. The effect was a couple of months. But those who had old visas are coming back.”

Manotosh Sarkar, a hotel and tourism businessman, said, 'Now we have experienced a decline. Because the tourist visa is closed, those who are coming on medical visa, they are coming little by little.'

He said that business is being affected due to lack of tourist visa. Kamruddin Mallik. He said, 'Maximum 20 percent are coming now, 80 percent are not tourists. Those who are coming are also leaving for medical work. If you have a tourist visa, there is some shopping.'

What is the reason for not giving a visa?
Former ambassador Humayun Kabir thinks that 'maybe India is not getting convinced in the context of recent events' the country is still so strict about visas.

But what is the impact on India and Bangladesh due to not giving visa ? In response to such questions, he said, 'The effect is negative. If the visa is not granted, travel is reduced. Reduced travel means negative impact on business. Many people get into various complications in their personal life. The people-to-people connectivity of the two countries is definitely disrupted.'

Again, the local business of India is also facing loss as Bangladeshi people are less in the country. Humaun Kabir said, 'Tourism has suffered a major blow due to the absence of Bangladeshi visitors in Kolkata. The condition of Kolkata's market places is under a bit of pressure. This has a negative impact on the local economy. No one is benefiting from it. The people of the two countries are getting affected by this.

Even if there is no profit, the reason for India's strictness in issuing visas is only security, or there is also a political decision behind it - the question is being raised. However, if the issue of security becomes important in this case, the initiative can be taken to normalize the situation through diplomatic measures, according to this analyst.

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