Indian visa

By Ziauddin Ahmed On e-mail
23 November 2004, 18:00 PM
It is reported that almost every day hundreds of Bangladeshis show up at the Indian High Commission in Gulshan for visas. Though the Indian High Commission takes all the trouble to issue around 500 visas a day, people even line up at night to get a chance to submit their visa applications next morning. One can understand the miseries of the applicants and the burden of work pressure on Indian High Commission.

I was wondering if the Indian High Commission could open a separate counter from 10am to 4pm and issue coupons to would-be applicants with passport number inscribed on each coupon and a date for submission of visa application . Applicants would then submit their applications along with the coupon attached on the appointed day. This I think can bring relief to the miseries of applicants and lessen the pressure on the High Commission. This will also prevent the applicants from being fleeced and cheated by brokers buzzing around the High Commission office.

The High Commission should also consider issuing one year multiple visa against a small fee.

This will no doubt further ease the pressure on the High Commission and bring relief to frequent travellers. India is after all our immediate good neighbour and the only place for the low income group to visit either for holidays, shopping, treatment, studies, or to see relations. Our population will keep on growing and so would be the number of applicants for Indian visas. The government of Bangladesh and India should find out an easy solution for travellers between these two countries.