KOLKATA: With the 15-year-old govt now ousted, there was a rush among Bangladeshis on Tuesday – several of them cooped up in Marquis Street for weeks – to return home and be a part of the unfolding history in the country’s 53 years of existence.
For the lucky 314-odd Bangladeshis, who were the first to return home – taking the first batch flights and buses – it was a relief to be finally reunited with their families.
Sixty seven flyers waiting to head back to their home in Bangladesh spent seven anxious hours at the city airport before they could finally board the first flight that flew out at 1am. Two more flights flew out thereafter with 137 flyers. They were not alone. Three buses, carrying 107 Bangladeshi nationals, left the city by noon. While the students, some as young as 17, expressed hope of seeing a new Bangladesh, others said they wished to see a new regime that would be tolerant and democratic.
“My visa was valid till Wednesday and thankfully, I could get back home within this limited time,” said Munir Hossain, a Dhaka resident who took the Biman Bangladesh flight at 1.30am on Tuesday. Hossain, along with the other passengers, were booked on the 8.45pm Biman Bangladesh flight on Monday but were stuck after the Dhaka airport stayed closed from 4.30pm till 10.30pm on Monday.
Back at Marquis Street, Rafikul Hassan from Dhaka said: “I have been getting news from relatives about every development back home. Bangladesh today stands on the cusp of history and I could not have missed it. But the violence could have been avoided. This was one image that will not go down well internationally.”
KM Haider from Barishal said it would be midnight before he could reach home. “The bus will reach around 4pm in Dhaka. I do hope we do not face any issues back at the Petropole-Benapole border. But I am so excited to travel back home,” said Haider, who had come to Kolkata for medical consultations.
The airport operated four flights to and from Bangladesh – two by Biman Bangladesh, and one each by Novo Air and US Bangla. IndiGo had cancelled their two direct flights, leaving many passengers booked on them frustrated. “I was booked on the 6.35am IndiGo flight to Dhaka. I had reached the airport around 3.30am only to realise that the flight was cancelled. The airline is unable to tell me when I can fly out,” said 35-year-old Al-Ameen Bin Naumiah, who was rushing to his home at Dhaka.
Equally anxious was Jitendra Mridha (54), who was heading back to their Dhaka home with his wife and two children from their Kolkata vacation midway. “I have my elderly mother and other senior relatives at home and I can’t leave them alone in this hour of crisis. Since I learnt about the emergency situation in the country, I had booked bus tickets but the evening bus on Monday got cancelled. We then bought air tickets and took the first flight on Tuesday morning to head back home,” said Mridha, a businessman.