Residents protest move to relocate Indian visa office at Banani

Residents form a human chain at Banani in the city yesterday protesting a move to shift Indian visa office to the residential area.Photo: STAR

Residents in the city's Banani area and students of Banani Model School yesterday protested the plan to relocate Indian visa office in the Banani residential area fearing that the move would hamper peaceful ambience of the locality.
They formed a human chain and also staged a protest rally at Banani Park to express deep concern over the relocation of the busy visa office which would bring unwanted elements in the locality.
Currently located at Gulshan section-1 near the shooting club, the State Bank of India, responsible for processing Indian visa, is planning to move the office to Block F, Road No. 7 at Banani 98/A.
The school students complained that the plot which is adjacent to the their campus would hamper the congenial academic atmosphere.
One of the residents Akter Shahid said, “Indian visa office is one of the most busiest offices in Dhaka. Every day several thousand people stand in queues in front of the current office at Gulshan creating disorder in the area. We don't want that to happen here.”
“Hundreds of brokers stand in lines in front of the visa office hours before the daybreak and later sell these standing places to visa seekers for money. They block roads, litter at will, destroy pavements and they even respond to the nature's call in the sidewalk due to lack of facilities,” he added.
Along with the burgeoning visitors, traffic movement would increase in the area creating gridlock in the already choked-up narrow lanes. The crowd would bring along hawkers and security of the area will also be hampered, residents complained.
“During festival seasons, many people visit India which would bring even more visa seekers around the area. We would be aliens in our own home. There might be even police barricades near my home every day hindering my movement”, said a resident Benedict Bijoy Baroi.
Qumrun Nahar, another resident, said, “Commercial activities are already on the increase at Banani. The relocation would further deteriorate the situation. We fear the only nearby open space Banani Park would be occupied by the visa seekers living no room for our children to play.”
Shah Abul Kashem, secretary general of Banani Society, said, “It is illegal to carry out commercial activities in a residential area. When we leased the plots, the papers clearly said there can be no commercial activities. We sent letters to the Rajuk authorities and the Indian high commission but didn't hear from them yet. We urge the government not to allow such move.”