Govt plans repatriation flights from Delhi for BD nationals

FT ONLINE

The government has planned to operate special flight on Dhaka-Delhi-Dhaka route to bring back Bangladesh nationals home who got stuck in New Delhi or adjacent areas due to countrywide lockdown in India.

Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday said the government will operate one or more special flights on the route depending on demand and required permission.

The first flight will be operated on Friday or anytime close to the day, said the High Commission.

The Bangladesh nationals who are willing to return to Bangladesh can book tickets of Biman Bangladesh Airlines through online until April 23, reports UNB.

The first batch of Bangladesh nationals, who got stuck in India due to countrywide lockdown there, returned home from Chennai on Monday.

The government in coordination with Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi facilitated the return of 164 Bangladesh nationals in the first batch.

More similar special flights will be operated in next few days to bring back Bangladesh nationals who got stuck in India after going there for treatment.

A good number of Bangladesh nationals from Kolkata, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and other border areas returned home with the support of Bangladesh missions there, said the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.

US-Bangla Airlines is operating the special flights with the support of the government to bring back Bangladesh nationals who got stranded in Chennai and Kolkata due to countrywide lockdown in India amid coronavirus outbreak.

The US-Bangla Airlines said they will operate five more special flights on Chennai-Dhaka route until April 25.

Two more special flights will bring back the Bangladeshis from Kolkata to Dhaka by April 23.

Some 2500 Bangladesh nationals including over 1000 students got stuck in different Indian cities due to current lockdown there, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The government earlier urged the Bangladesh citizens, now got stuck in a number of Indian cities, to have patience assuring them of their gradual repatriation after bringing back patients from South India.

"We won't put any of our citizen abroad in unbearable sufferings," said State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam in a video  message recently.

He urged all including Bangladeshi students in India not to create any unnecessary situation there noting that the image of Bangladesh is linked with their behaviours.

The State Minister said people in all coronavirus affected countries including Bangladesh and India are facing problems.