Kolkata: The turmoil in Bangladesh has left the visa application office here empty.
The office at Sector V, which usually witnesses more than 1,000 applicants a day, on Wednesday wore a deserted look, the big hall and the chairs going empty and employees whiling away their time. Only one man, the father of a medical student studying in Bangladesh in second year, turned up to ask about the processing time.The father, said an official, was unwilling to send his daughter to Dhaka right now, given the volatile situation there.
Another official said the scene had been similar the past four days. With the server being down owing to the internet disruption in Bangladesh, no one could apply online either, he said, adding the demand for visa was usually high ahead of the festive season with over 1,200 visas being processed every day.
Bus operators Abani Mohan Ghosh of Shyamoli Paribahan and Monotosh Saha of Sohag feared business loss given the low visa applications.