POBNEWS24, Dhaka Oct 13, 2023 : The number of India-bound passengers has decreased at Jessore’s Benapole land port. Immigration officials said that the passenger rate has decreased due to the increase in travel tax, long procedures for obtaining visas and various harassments at the Bangladesh-India check posts.
Apart from this, there have also been allegations of ill-treatment, physical torture and breaking the serial in exchange of money to allow the passengers to go ahead.
According to the relevant sources, most of the Bangladeshi passengers go to India through Benapole check post for medical, business, education and travel purposes. In the first three months of the financial year 2022-23, 5 lakh 68 thousand 798 passengers traveled to India. 4 lakh 26 thousand 639 passengers traveled to India in the first three months of the 2023-24 financial year after delays in obtaining visas, harassment and increase in travel tax. At the same time, the number of passengers decreased by 1 lakh 42 thousand 159 people.
There is a Memorandum of Understanding signed between India and Bangladesh on 28 January 2013 to provide visa facilities to Bangladeshi citizens. According to that agreement, Bangladeshis above 65 years of age should get a five-year visa. Tourist visas for those under 65 years of age were given for one year. At the same time, three-five-year visas were given for businessmen. If you apply earlier, you can get visa within 10-15 days, but now it is not possible even in two-three months. And even if the visa is given, its duration is three to six months.
Passengers have to pay extra as the government has increased the travel tax from Tk 500 to Tk 1000 in the current budget. That is why the number of passengers at immigration has come down to less than half. General passengers are also deprived of baggage allowance. Customs authorities are not giving exemption to the physically challenged. Even chocolates, sesame seeds, biscuits, one kg of cumin seeds, sugar are seized and given memos to the passengers. At the same time, there have been complaints of passenger harassment in immigration of the two countries. Apart from this, the number of passengers has decreased to a large extent due to the two rounds of searches by BSF at the check post and BGB at the Benapole check post. As a result, the revenue of the government has decreased in this sector.
Several victimized passengers said that while going to India through Benapole check post from different parts of the country, they have been waiting in line since dawn. However, many passengers are getting an opportunity inside the terminal building through local brokers.
Anita Bhowmik, a passenger from Dhaka, said, ‘Passengers traveling between the two countries are being harassed in various ways. I am not getting the same baggage allowance as I used to get earlier. The way bags are being searched at present is depriving us of the desired service.’
Another passenger named Khairul Alam said, “I traveled to India with a travel tax of 500 taka and a landport charge of 50 taka.” Now our expenses have increased as the travel tax has been increased to 1000 rupees. As a neighboring country we should give visa on arrival and remove travel tax. It is becoming difficult for many tourists like me as the travel tax of 500 rupees has been increased to 1000 rupees in one go.
A passenger named Swapan Kumar Pal said, “The number of passengers used to travel is not that much now. The luggage facility that I used to get earlier is not available now. Being harassed in various ways. If there is no solution to these problems, more passengers will decrease in the future.
A passenger named Eman Ahmed said, ‘My father is a cancer patient. On the way back from seeing a doctor in India, I brought some goods for home. The check post customs officers seized it and handed over a memo. Customs is not giving the benefits that common passengers are supposed to get under the baggage rule.
A passenger named Mahmud Hossain said, “We are getting the serials one or two months after submitting the passports of those who are going to get visas for traveling to India. And it takes one and a half to two months to get the visa. All in all, it takes three to four months to get the visa. If it takes so much time to get a visa, how will people travel? Because of this, people are decreasing at the border now.
Manager of Benapole Sonali Bank said in this regard. Ehsin Ali said, ‘The number of passengers traveling through Benapole has decreased since August 1 after the increase in travel tax. As a result, it is not possible to reach the desired goal of collecting revenue through the government’s travel tax.
Acting Director of Benapole Land Port Authority. Abdul Jalil said, ‘Six to seven thousand passengers used to travel to India through Benapole land port every day. The number of passengers has decreased a lot in recent times.
