There is no end to the suffering of Bangladeshi passport holders due to mismanagement of immigration at Petrapole checkpost in India. Due to their mismanagement, the sick people are spending the night in long ques on the roads in the immigration area for two days with the sun and rain on their heads. Among them, on Tuesday (May 19) thousands of passengers were suddenly forced to leave together to complete the physical examination at Benapole Immigration. As a result, no one could return home even after setting foot on the soil of the country.
But Benapole immigration authorities said they are working late into the night to hand over release permission orders to the passengers who have been waiting for two days.
Talking to passengers stranded at Benapole Immigration on the other side of Petrapole on Tuesday night, they told about their plight.
It is known that thousands of Bangladeshis from Bangladesh who went for medical, business and travel were stuck in lockdown in India. Although they wanted to return, they could not return due to the lockdown. As the validity of the passport came to an end, they came to the check post from far and wide, some in vehicles and some on foot. But due to the slow pace of work of India's Petrapol immigration and various delays, these passengers were spending the night on the road in the sun and rain without eating for two days.
Suddenly, on Tuesday evening, the Petrapole immigration authorities released all the passengers at a time. As a result, they are stuck at Benapole Immigration because the health examination has not been completed.
Meanwhile, the narrow space in the immigration building is not going to maintain any social distancing between the passengers returning to India. As a result, passengers as well as police and health workers at the immigration building are at risk of major corona infections.
Passengers Shefali and Jayanti Rani, who returned from India, said they could enter Bangladesh in two days but could not return home. The Indian immigration police deliberately stopped them. At that time they spent the night in the streets without eating but no one took notice of them.
Subhashis, a medical officer at the Benapole Immigration Health Center, said the Indian Immigration authorities were releasing the passengers at a time, causing problems for the crowd. With so much passenger pressure, it is not possible to maintain social distancing between them in any way. However, the health workers are working at night to complete their health examination.
Benapole Immigration Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ahsan Habib said at 11:30 pm that the returning passengers were currently waiting at the immigration building. Work is underway on their physical examination and passport to prevent corona infection. So far, the formalities of passports of 600 passengers have been completed. The rest is under process. However, those whose work has been completed, as transports are closed due to lockdown, they can not return home.