Medical misery mounts
Shamima Begum and her husband waited nearly a month for the ongoing political turmoil to end so that they can take their ailing daughter to Kolkata for treatment.
With no sign of let-up in violence, they finally left for India early this month.
But this time, they avoided their usual means of transport. They preferred train to bus to minimise the risk of arson attacks that have become frequent since the BNP-led alliance's nonstop blockade began on January 6.
"Our visas would expire in February. We had no alternative but to go to Kolkata," said Shamima, 50.
She along with her husband and daughter returned home by bus on a Friday, a weekly holiday, wanting to avoid getting stranded in a foreign country because of shutdowns.
Shamima is only one of the thousands of Bangladeshis who go to India for treatment.
Among the neighbouring nations, Bangladesh has been the main source of tourists for India over the last few years, according to Bernama, the Malaysian state-run news agency.
The number of visitors from Bangladesh rose to 524,923 in 2013 from 463,543 in 2011, it said.
Of the total Bangladeshis visiting India, about 35 percent go there for medical purposes, said Kazi Wahidul Alam, editor of The Bangladesh Monitor, an aviation and tourism fortnightly.
However, many low and middle income families now find it difficult to visit the neighbouring country for treatment and return home sooner than planned due to disruption in bus services.
Those with urgency are either taking buses or trains, while others have shelved their travel plans for now. This has resulted in a significant drop in the flow of bus passengers to and from Bangladesh and India, according to operators.
Farhadul Islam, who sells electrical items at Nababpur market in Old Dhaka, had planned to go to India for treatment by the end of January. But he changed his mind due to the ongoing violence and arson attacks that have claimed at least 69 lives.
"I am in a state of indecision.... It is risky to travel at this time," he said.
Mihir Saha, a trader in Faridpur, waits for normalcy to return. He has to consult a doctor at a Kolkata hospital where he had undergone heart surgery in July last year.
The 59-year-old was asked to see the doctor after six months of the operation. But he is scared to travel in this situation.
"I cannot afford to travel by air. But it will be very risky to go by bus now," he said.
He usually takes a bus from his hometown in Faridpur to Benapole, the country's biggest land port bordering India, and then to India. But the bus service between Faridpur and Benapole has remained suspended since the unrest began.
Bus services to Kolkata, Shiliguri and Agartala face serious disruptions due to arson and bomb attacks on the highway.
BRTC-Shyamoli has already suspended its service on Dhaka-Shiliguri and Dhaka-Agartala routes, said Wareas Alam Riaz, manager of the service.
Last week, nighttime bus services on Dhaka-Kolkata route via Benapole were suspended in line with bus operators' decision not to run buses on long routes after 9:00pm.
Riaz said they now operated buses only during daytime. "Despite that, the flow of travellers is low because of fear of attacks.”
It is now easy to get a bus ticket whereas in the past one had to book it at least two weeks before the travel date, he said.
"Nowadays, we see a good number of travellers only on Fridays and Saturdays.”
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