Dhaka friends on med visit to Kolkata cross Petrapole in nick of time before visa expiry
Times of India | 21 July 2024
Kolkata: Two Dhaka-based IT executives — Anupam Ghosh (31) and Ariful Islam (28) — who had come to Kolkata on July 14 to purchase medicines and consult the doctor who had conducted a knee-replacement surgery on Anupam’s mother, took a local train from Sealdah to Bongaon, and then walked across the Petrapole-Benapole border to return home.
Though other Bangladeshis stuck here advised the duo to stay put in Kolkata till situation in the country improved, they had to return as Anupam’s visa was valid till Saturday.
Till last reports came, they were stranded in Jhenaidah district, which is 237 kilometres from Dhaka.
They were initially scheduled to take a bus back to Dhaka on Wednesday. But with bus service being cancelled along with flights and trains, the two got stuck in Kolkata. “It has been 45 days since the surgery and medicines stocks were about to get exhausted. So, I came here to consult the doctor and take fresh stock,” said Ghosh.
With time running out as Anupam’s visa was valid till Saturday, the duo went to Sealdah early on Saturday to take a local train to Bangaon. They then took an auto to Petrapole, did immigration there and crossed over to Benapole in Jessore. There, too, uncertainty persisted with no bus to Dhaka.
“We tried to book two tickets for the last two days, first by air then train and finally bus, but there were no bookings available,” said Islam.
The duo finally decided to reach Bongaon border catching the first local train from Sealdah departing 3.15 am on Saturday and managed to clear the immigration and entered Benapole around 9.30 am on Saturday.
“It is a different Bangladesh I witnessed with no food available and hardly any activities on the streets. Also the hotel fares are as much as 6 to 7 times high with hardly any availability,” said Ghosh.
The duo managed to book a room in Benapole border for a halt with an unexpected room rent. They also faced major problems to book two bus tickets to Dhaka as some of the leading operators demanded BDT 3,500 for a 5.5-hour journey.