Guwahati: In the wake of prevailing political unrest in neighbouring Bangladesh the cross border movement between the two countries has registered a significant decline of nearly 60 percent which is reflected in reduced demand for visas for Bangladesh in Assam. Pointing out that the three visa centres in Assam – located in Guwahati, Bongaigaon, and Silchar – which was processing 50-55 visas every day, are now issuing only around 15-18 visa a day, security sources said that the decline has affected multiple sectors, including education and healthcare. Informing that since last one year or so only a few students have opted for student visas to complete their medical education in Bangladesh, security sources said, “ There has been a notable drop in student visas, particularly among medical aspirants from Assam who traditionally pursue affordable medical education in Bangladesh.” Indicating that families of such students are yet to have confidence to reconsider cross-border academic plans, security sources said, “There are still many students from Assam who are pursuing medical education in Bangladesh but the rate of fresh admissions from Assam has gone down substantially.” Admitting that inflow of people for treatment in Assam from Bangladesh has also declined, security sources said, “Earlier, many patients from Bangladesh used to come to the state for treatment. Now, those numbers have come down significantly.” Security sources keeping watch on developments of cross border activities said that a few tourist visas are being issued currently while a negligible number of student visas or for that matter business visas have been issued. It is significant that Assam shares a 262-km border with Bangladesh.In the financial year 2023-24, bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh stood at $14.01 billion. India exported goods worth $12.05 billion to Bangladesh and imported different items worth $1.97 billion. India is Bangladesh’s second-largest trading partner in Asia, while Bangladesh is India’s largest trading partner in South Asia. The decline in visa issuance is believed to be a result of political instability in Bangladesh which coincided with India’s imposition of new trade restrictions on Bangladeshi exports to the Northeast and other regions. The restricted items include garments, plastic goods, furniture, carbonated drinks, baked items, and cotton yarn. These measures are viewed as a reciprocal move to Bangladesh’s continued non-tariff barriers on Indian exports and statements by Bangladesh leaders referring to India’s North East as “landlocked”. However, some essential goods, such as fish, LPG, edible oil, crushed stones, and garments, routed through Kolkata and Nhava Sheva ports have been exempted from the restrictions.
Source link
