The movement of flights and trucks between Bengal and Bangladesh has been severely impacted by the unrest in the neighbouring country.

The number of flights between Calcutta and Dhaka in November was less than half of the number in July, said Calcutta airport officials. The number of passengers has also gone down drastically, they said (see chart).

Similarly, the number of trucks carrying various items to Bangladesh through
the land borders has reduced significantly, operators
said.

Figures shared by airport officials show that 205 flights from Bangladesh landed in Calcutta in July. The count of flights from Calcutta to Bangladesh also stood at 205. The number of passengers who came to Calcutta was 21,234 and the number of fliers from Calcutta to Bangladesh was 21,001.

In November, only 96 flights ferrying 10,121 passengers arrived in Calcutta from Bangladesh. In total, 97 flights reached Dhaka from Calcutta, carrying 12,736 people.

Multiple airlines have reduced their flights between Calcutta and Dhaka.

“IndiGo used to run a couple of daily flights in each direction between Calcutta and Dhaka. Since October 10, it has been running two flights one day and one flight the next day. Since August 10, Biman Bangladesh has been running one flight daily instead of two. US-Bangla Airlines has been running one daily flight, down from three, since August 17,” said an airport official.

US-Bangla Airlines has not only reduced the number of flights but also shifted to a smaller ATR aircraft.

“The number of passengers started dipping in August when the first round of unrest broke out in Bangladesh. In the middle of October, there was a marginal rise in the numbers. But the fresh round of violence dragged the numbers down again. If the number of passengers does not rise, the route will no longer be viable,” said an official of an airline.

Many Bangladeshis who are in Calcutta for treatment have told Metro that their friends and relatives back home are not able to come because of the curbs India has imposed on medical and tourist visas.

The sharp plunge in the number of Bangladeshi visitors has dented businesses on Marquis Street, Free School Street, Kyd Street, Sudder Street and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road and in the New Market area.

Earlier, currency exchangers, eateries, garment retailers, travel operators and mobile recharge stores would be crowded. The same lanes are now almost deserted.

The unrest across the border and the rising price of the US dollar have spawned a sense of insecurity among importers.

A section of clearing agents, truck owners and exporters said the number of trucks moving across the border has nearly halved over the last few days, amid protests by minorities in Bangladesh over the arrest of Hindu preacher Chinmoy Krishna Das.

“Around 150-200 trucks have entered Bangladesh daily through the Ghojadanga land port in Basirhat over the last few days. The normal count is around 350-400 a day,” said Sanjeev Mondal, a clearing agent.

At Petrapole in Bongaon, the largest land port in south Asia, rows of trucks have been waiting to enter Bangladesh since November 26, when a lawyer was killed following clashes between security personnel and some members of a minority community in
Bangladesh.

“Earlier, around 400 trucks would enter Bangladesh through Petrapole. On Saturday, the number was 280,” said Kartik Chakraborty, the secretary of the Clearing and Forwarding Agents Staff Welfare Association in Bongaon.

“Those arriving from the neighbouring country are narrating the harrowing experience they faced there. Exporters are feeling scared,” he said.

Different kinds of goods including fruits, vegetables, edible oil, machine parts, poultry feed and boulders enter Bangladesh from Bengal.

“The reports reaching us from other border outposts, including Hilli in South Dinajpur, Changrabandha in Cooch Behar and Mahadipur in Malda are also discouraging. Trucks are lying stranded, exporters are not willing to take chances by requisitioning vehicles from truck owners. Some truck drivers are not taking assignments for Bangladesh fearing attacks,” said Sajal Ghosh, the secretary of the Federation of West Bengal Truck Operators Association.

“At Hilli, just about 60 trucks left for Bangladesh on Saturday, compared with the normal daily count of 150. At Mahadipur, around 170 trucks entered Bangladesh on Saturday against the usual daily count of 300-350,” he said.

Exporters said trade has been hit since the change of the guard in Bangladesh with the interim government struggling to contain inflation and the dollar price rising. On Sunday, one US dollar was equal to around 120 Bangladeshi taka.

“Bangladeshi importers aren’t sure whether distributors would receive goods. There’s uncertainty about what an exporter can do if a letter of credit is dishonoured,” said Paritosh Biswas, a poultry feed exporter to Bangladesh. “No one is ready to trust anyone.”