For, Mondol, a resident of Khulna district in Bangladesh, had to cut short his stay in India without getting his eye surgery done in view of a volatile situation in his country and amid rumours of the international border being sealed soon. He was diagnosed with an eye ailment and was asked to undergo surgery for which he was in India.
At Petrapole, India’s largest land customs station near Bongaon in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, many Bangladeshi nationals are making a beeline to go back to their country after getting frantic calls from their families and relatives.
There was fresh turmoil in the neighbouring country following the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das, a leading face of the protests against continued attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. Das was arrested on November 25 by the Bangladesh Police on charges of sedition.
“I lost vision in my left eye after I met with an accident. I came to India (West Bengal) a few days back and got my eye checked at a private hospital. I was advised to get my eye surgery done,” said Tarak Mondol who was accompanied by his brother-in-law Prabir Mondol.
“But you know the situation in Bangladesh. I am getting calls from my wife and son. They are scared. Moreover, there are rumours that the border will be sealed in the next couple of days. So I am rushing back without getting my surgery done even as I had my visa till December 17,” added Tarak, a mason, whose son studies in class 10.
Kalpana Ghosh (57) and her husband Dulal Chandra Ghosh (62), who hail from the Mymensingh Sadar area of the neighbouring country, were also among those rushing back home. “I underwent cataract surgery yesterday. I could have stayed here back and rested for a while. But the situation is bad there and we want to get back home as soon a possible,” said Kalpana.
Sipra Biswas, who along with her husband Babul Biswas was standing in the queue at the checkpoint, said, “What if our homes are vandalised? Our children and relatives are there. We cut short our visit to our relatives here in Bengal. We came here after things settled a bit, but now the trouble started once again.”
The couple is from Narail in Bangladesh’s Jessore district.
Gopal Dutta (36), a resident of Nilgunj in Bangladesh, said, “I came on a tour to India on a three-month visa. Meanwhile, the situation in Bangladesh deteriorated and my family is calling me to come back. I am returning in less than a week.”
Shahinoor Begum (30), another Bangladesh national who was in Bengal for her son’s treatment, said, “I don’t understand politics much. But whatever is happening is not acceptable. My son’s treatment is done and now we are returning home. My husband and relatives want us to be back.”
Abdulla Al-Mamun of Chittagong in Bangladesh said, “It is not that every area in Bangladesh has communal tension. Tension prevailed in some places after the Sheikh Hasina government was brought down. I have several Hindu friends who I talked to and they are doing fine. In some areas, local residents have taken upon themselves to protect their Hindu friends.”
Rajdeep Roy (31), a Sylhet resident who came to India on Monday for the treatment of liver disease, said, “I usually come to India twice a year. But now, people from Bangladesh are not getting visas as easily as they used to get earlier.”
Meanwhile, BJP workers and supporters on Monday held a meeting in an area abutting the Petrapole checkpoint over the alleged “atrocities on minorities” in Bangladesh.
However, exports and imports continued as normal during the day.
Kartik Chakraborty, secretary, Petrapole Clearing Agents’ Staff Welfare Association, said, “Imports and exports remained normal on Monday. Nearly 150 trucks left for Bangladesh and 139 trucks entered India. But with the fresh situation in Bangladesh, there is a sense of fear among truck drivers and exporters. We are receiving so many calls.”
In July this year, exports and import through Petrapole were suspended for a few days following unrest in Bangladesh.