Bus operators, ferrying passengers between Calcutta and Dhaka, on Monday said they have been receiving frantic calls over the last few days from Bangladeshis seeking help to secure a visa to visit India.

Some said they wanted to come down for medical treatments while others wanted to visit their relatives this winter and didn’t know whom to approach for a visa.

Many people in Bangladesh, applying for medical and tourist visas, said their applications had been turned down.

“People have been calling from Dhaka, Pabna, Chittagong, Sylhet and other places asking us if we could do anything to arrange a visa for them,” said Abani Kumar Ghosh of Shyamoli Paribahan Private Limited, which runs a bus service between Dhaka and Calcutta.

“They are prepared to pay around ₹40,000 for a visa. We have been telling them this is not something we can arrange for them. They will have to try through official channels back home.”

Some of the operators ferrying passengers between Calcutta and Dhaka said a significant drop in the number of passengers reaching the city from the neighbouring country over the last few days has hit their business like never before.

Some said they were forced to reduce the number of buses leaving the city for Dhaka because there weren’t enough bookings. Others said the
drop in the passenger count has been over 50 per cent, making it difficult for them to remain afloat with increasing losses.

“A few months back, a 45-seat bus to Dhaka from Calcutta would be nearly full. Now not even half the seats are occupied. We don’t know how to remain afloat,” Ghosh said.

Besides the Calcutta-Dhaka route, Shyamoli runs a bus service between Calcutta and Agartala via Dhaka. Shyamoli received an international permit to ferry passengers between Calcutta and Dhaka back in 1999.

One of the buses travelling from Agartala to Calcutta on Friday was attacked on Bishwa Road in Brahmanbaria in east-central Bangladesh.

Many from Bangladesh prefer the bus route because it’s cheaper compared with flights. A bus ride to Dhaka from Calcutta costs a maximum of ₹1,900, less than half the airfare, operators said.

“Besides, reaching the international airport in Dhaka from the fringes is fraught with risks. Airport-bound passengers are often stopped on the way and searched for their documents. At times passengers are asked why they are going to India,” Ghosh said.

Shyamoli charges around ₹1,700 for a one-way trip between Calcutta and Dhaka. The trip takes around nine hours. A flight ticket to Dhaka costs around ₹5,000 per person on average.

The difference in fares has remained the selling point for bus operators who run services on the Calcutta-Dhaka route via Jessore, Khulna, Magura and Comilla.

“We are offering a ticket for ₹1,200 but there aren’t any takers. Just about 20 per cent of passengers are now availing of our bus service,” said Raja Karigar of Royal Coach.

The company operated three buses daily to Dhaka from Calcutta. Now it runs one, he said.

“It’s difficult to cope with the losses now. We are keeping the booking office open for publicity,” said Karigar.

On Monday afternoon, when a bus from Dhaka reached Marquis Street, the usual flurry of hotel attendants interacting with the visitors was missing.

The few passengers from Bangladesh reaching the city walked down to their hotels with their luggage all by themselves.

“I was issued a visa for medical treatment almost five months back. I did not face any trouble reaching Calcutta. But nowadays it’s difficult to get a visa,” said Paban Ahmed Ujjal, who reached Calcutta from Munshiganj in Bangladesh.

“It’s now difficult to get an Indian visa even on medical grounds.... But let me tell you, there’s no trouble in Dhaka, no unrest. But all sorts of rumours are spreading.”

“There’s a sense of fear among the passengers. All we know is that if this lasts long, it will be difficult to cope with the losses,” said Shyamal Ghosh of Green Line Paribahan, which runs a Calcutta-Dhaka bus service via Khulna.