The violence in Bangladesh is hitting traders on both sides of the border.
Trade bodies in Calcutta, representing garment dealers, travel operators, hotel owners, money changers and many others, are planning to hold meetings over the next few days to discuss the crisis staring at them.
Traders in Bangladesh said they would be forced to look at other markets like China if India is out of bounds.
“Every business in the Free School Street, Marquis Street, New Market and adjoining areas has been severely hit since the new crisis erupted in Bangladesh. We are planning a meeting of all stakeholders that would include garments traders, bus operators, foreign exchange stores, hotels and restaurants to discuss the scale of the problem,” said Hyder Ali Khan, the general secretary of the Free School Street Traders’ Association.
“Once the full extent of the loss suffered by all traders is assessed, we will write to the state and central governments to resolve the issue of visa restrictions for Bangladeshi nationals.”
Khan said the announcement by a hospital that it would not treat patients from Bangladesh had “a negative impact” on those living across the border.
”We have data that 10 to 15 per cent of Bangladeshis who would come here still have valid visas but many are not coming out of fear. We want to tell Bangladeshis that they would not face any problem here,” he said.
Murli Keswani, a garment wholesaler at Chowringhee Market, said his business has gone down by 60 per cent since August, when the unrest in Bangladesh started, resulting in the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.
Garment importers in Bangladesh said they are unable to import consignments from Calcutta because of visa issues.
Ghulam Mohammed Azad, a garment importer in Dhaka, said he would import clothes worth $1 million every year from India, the bulk of that from Calcutta.
“I would import 400 to 500 tonnes every year. In the past four months, I have taken barely 30 tonnes,” Azad told The Telegraph over the phone from Dhaka on Thursday.
“Doing business online is difficult. We have to visit the markets in India, see the quality of fabrics and design and then place orders.”
Azad said he would come to India six to seven times a year on a business visa. “My visa expired in July. I have not been able to get it renewed,” he said.
Md Salauddin, another garment trader in Dhaka, said he would import 120 tonnes of garments every year from the New Market area.
“I would come every month to Calcutta. Since August, the Indian visa office has not been accepting my application. Many importers are visiting China. I am also planning to go there this month,” said Salauddin.
On Marquis Street on Thursday, business was dull like other days now.
Sagar Ali Mir runs a Kashmiri shawl store there with his brother. “Usually, we sell around 500 shawls per month, mostly to Bangladeshis. Now it is less than 100,” he said.
The brothers keep the store closed for most of the day and Sagar does odd jobs to sustain himself. “We are planning to go home to Kashmir and come back when business becomes normal again,” he said.
“Not just garments, the travel trade is also severely hit as fewer flights now operate between Calcutta and Dhaka and bus operators, too, have cut down their services. The governments need to resolve the visa issue,” said Anil Punjabi, national committee member, Travel Agents Federation of India, representing the eastern region. Punjabi will attend next week’s meeting.
Monotosh Sarkar, joint secretary, Marquis Street Free School Street Welfare Society, said they are also planning to hold a meeting this week to discuss the mounting losses.
“We are calling all those affected. The visa issues need to be resolved. There is a sense of fear among Bangladeshi nationals about visiting Calcutta. We want to tell them that they will be safe here,” said Sarkar, who runs a hotel on Marquis Street.
The hotel has 30 rooms and around 25 of those would remain occupied every day on average. “Now, barely five rooms are occupied. The numbers have been going down since September,” he said.
