89 Bangladeshis arrive through Bhomra Land Port from locked down India

At least 89 Bangladeshis with valid passports returned home from India today through Bhomra Land Port in Satkhira.

Earlier in a span of 48 hours, around 207 Bangladeshis had returned home from the neighboring country, according to immigration police.

The returns, however, have stoked fears of coronavirus outbreak in the area, reports our local correspondent.  

A total of 89 people returned home through the land port till 3:00pm today, while 127 entered Bangladesh through it on Sunday and 104 people on Saturday.

From March 23 till date, around 987 people with Bangladeshi passports came home from India and 90 to 95 percent of them are residents of Satkhira district, according to the immigration office.

Biswajit Sarker, officer-in-charge of the Bhomra Land Port, told our correspondent that Indians now staying in Bangladesh could not go to their country due to ongoing lockdown there, but there was no bar on Bangladeshis returning from India.

In a bid to curb and prevent the spread of the virus, a list of returnees is being sent to all police stations every day.

"We have marked them with stamps bearing the date till which they will have to stay in home quarantine," the OC said.

The Bangladeshis, who got stranded in India, were allowed to enter as their visa will expire soon, the police officer said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown across the country from March 24.

On the other hand, Bangladesh declared a 10-day shutdown from March 26 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.