‘We’ll get you home soon’

With several thousand Bangladeshis passing days in hardship in stranded situations in India for over a month, the government yesterday urged Bangladeshi citizens to have patience, assuring them of their gradual repatriation after bringing back patients from South India.

In a major development, US-Bangla Airlines will start operating eight special flights from today to bring back over 1,000 stranded Bangladeshis who went there for treatment. Six flights will be operated from Chennai from April 20 to 25 while two from Kolkata will be operated on April 21 and April 23, Kamrul Islam, general manager (public relations) of the airline, told The Daily Star.

Meanwhile, for several hundred Bangladeshis stranded in Malaysia, the government has said the Malaysian government is assisting the expatriate Bangladeshis as the Bangladesh high commission is closely working in this regard with the Southeast Asian country.

In a video message on Saturday night, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam urged the stranded Bangladeshis in India to have patience.

"We will not put any of our citizens abroad in unbearable sufferings," he said. He urged the Bangladeshis, including students, not to create any untoward situation there, saying Bangladesh's positive image is linked to their behaviour.

Shahriar said the ministry and Bangladesh high commission in India were in constant touch with the Indian authorities for the Bangladeshis' wellbeing, especially around 300 students of Lovely Professional University in Punjab.

He said the Bangladesh government has already brought back some citizens from India by road via Kolkata and sent them to quarantine with help of local administration.

According to the state minister, Bangladeshis including students of some universities, tourists and those who went for medical treatment remained stranded in several Indian cities including Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai.

India has been under lockdown since March 25 which was extended till May 3.

Sources said of the stranded Bangladeshis, around 600 are Tabligh Jamaat men; at least 1,000 in Chennai and Vellore who went mostly for medical treatment, and there are several hundreds more in Bangalore and Hyderabad. Many Bangladeshis in India are suffering from financial crisis in the current situation.

Meanwhile in Malaysia, some 250 to 300 Bangladeshi students had been stranded and also passing days in financial hardship due to air communication suspension their educational and living expenses, since their income opportunities had stopped because of the Malaysian government enforced movement control order (MCO) from March 18, which got extended until April 28.

A top official at Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on April 13 said Dhaka is handling the situation of the stranded students and taking steps regarding their repatriation. "The students are desperate to return to Bangladesh but could not move in the present situation," said the official, wishing not to be named.

Talking on the students' condition, Prof Muhammad Abul Bashar, a Bangladeshi teacher at Malaysian Allied Health Sciences Academy University, said apart from concern over coronavirus infections, a significant number of Bangladeshi students are also facing financial crisis.

"Students' safety is the biggest concern. However, their financial condition is also a major concern now since many of them, especially those who study at private universities, heavily depend on their part-time income to meet their expenses," he told this newspaper over phone recently.

According to a government handout issued yesterday, in an emerging situation over coronavirus, the Malaysian government is providing all kinds of support to Bangladeshi nationals in the country.

They are working with the Bangladesh high commission in Kuala Lumpur in this regard, according to a letter sent by Malaysia's Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein to Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.

US-BANGLA TO RUN 8 FLIGHTS IN INDIA

Meanwhile, six of the US-Bangla Airlines flights will be operated from Chennai from April 20 to April 25 while two from Kolkata will be operated on April 21 and April 23, Kamrul Islam, general manager (public relations) of the airline, told The Daily Star.

The move came following understanding between the two neighboring countries.

Flights on Chennai-Dhaka route are scheduled to take off at 12:15pm (Bangladesh local time) every day from April 20 to April 25 and will land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at 3:15pm.

Flights on Kolkata-Dhaka route are scheduled to depart at 11:30am (Bangladesh local time).

LABOUR COUNSELLOR IN JEDDAH TESTED COVID-19 POSITIVE

In another development, Bangladesh labour welfare counsellor in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah Aminul Islam has been infected with Covid-19, expatriates' welfare ministry said in a release yesterday.

Expatriates' Welfare Minister Imran Ahmad has prayed for his quick recovery and urged other officials and staff members of Bangladesh missions abroad to take precautionary measures with following coronavirus-related health guidelines while doing their professional duties.

A cadre from Bangladesh Civil Service's 20th batch, Aminul recently worked closely with Saudi authorities since the deadly pandemic emerged to ensure that some 4,000 Bangladeshi migrants in a Madina dormitory go through Covid-19 tests, according to the release.