Parents worried about children they left back home. Elderly people with dwindling money. A complete communications blackout.

The desperation to go home was writ large on the faces of Bangladeshis in central Calcutta, a visit to Free School Street, Marquis Street and adjoining areas on Saturday suggested.

Abdullah Al Mehedy, 43, a resident of Khilgaon, a neighbourhood in Dhaka, was headed to the office of US-Bangla Airlines on Sudder Street.

He was awaiting confirmation of two tickets — for him and his wife Shaila Akhtar — to Dhaka on Sunday.
The couple came to Calcutta on July 17 via the Kolkata (Chitpore)-Dhaka Maitree express for Shaila’s treatment.

“We thought of spending some more days in Calcutta, But the violence back home has robbed us of our sleep. We have two children back home,” said Mehedy, who works in a bank.

He managed to book air tickets for Sunday but was awaiting confirmation. “The Internet shutdown has amplified the problem. ISD calls are not going through. We have not spoken with our children for around 48 hours,” he said.

They eventually got the booking confirmation. “But reaching home from the airport will not be easy,” he said.

Bus services between Calcutta and Bangladesh have been hit hard. Trains between Calcutta and Bangladesh have also been cancelled. That has resulted in a huge rush for air tickets.

Flights between Calcutta and Dhaka are overbooked, said airline officials.

Biman Bangladesh, which operates a 74-seater aircraft between Dhaka and Calcutta, had 67 passengers on the flight from Dhaka and 73 on the flight from Calcutta.

“Since Saturday morning, there has been a surge in demand for tickets. I received at least 10 calls seeking tickets,” said an official of the carrier.

An official of US-Bangla Airlines said he also received a “huge number of calls” for tickets.

The Internet shutdown in Dhaka has deepened the crisis. Manual check-ins and manual boarding passes are eating up a lot of time at Dhaka airport, said airline officials.

The US-Bangla Airlines flight from Dhaka was delayed by three-and-a-half hours on Saturday. As a result, the return flight was also delayed.

Mustafa Kamal, 60, landed in Calcutta on July 3 for medical reasons. He is accompanied by family members. They have been trying, in vain, to book a return ticket for three days. On Saturday, they finally got tickets for July 22.

“Our stay is already beyond what we had planned. We are running short of cash... People back home cannot send money because of the Internet shutdown,” he said.

Many Bangladeshis were seen rushing from one bus counter to another at Esplanade to book tickets.

Small groups were seen along the pavements and outside hotels and eateries. Many were fidgeting with their phones, browsing through social media for updates on the situation back home.