332 more Bangladeshis return home from India

A total of 332 more Bangladeshi nationals, who were stranded in India due to flight suspension amid the Covid-19 pandemic, returned home today.

Of them, 163 Bangladeshi citizens from New Delhi and 169 from Chennai arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on two chartered flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines and US-Bangla airlines, this afternoon.

"The special flight of Biman landed at the Dhaka airport from New Delhi at 4:43pm carrying 162 adults and one infant," Tahera Khandaker, Biman's deputy general manager (Public Relations), told this correspondent.

Earlier, the US-Bangla Airlines special flight arrived at HSIA at 2:54pm from Chennai carrying 164 adults and five infants, the private carrier's General Manager Kamrul Islam told media.

A total of 988 Bangladeshi nationals were brought back from India from April 20 till today by five chartered flights while the passengers bore the cost of their own tickets.

As per the government's decision, all returnee Bangladeshis are scheduled to remain in 14-day institutional quarantine if they fail to show a medical certificate at the airport on their arrival proving they have tested negative for Covid-19.

The returning Bangladeshi nationals, most of whom went to India for medical treatment, were given assistance by a team of Bangladesh mission officers led by High Commissioner Muhammad Imran, at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, according to a press release of Bangladesh mission in New Delhi.

164 more Bangladeshis are expected to fly home tomorrow from Chennai on a special flight of US-Bangla Airlines.

More such flights can be arranged to facilitate stranded Bangladeshis to return home upon approval by governments of both Bangladesh and India.

On April 3, the foreign ministry issued a statement saying that nearly 2,500 Bangladeshi citizens, including 1,000 students, were stranded in India following suspension of flights and nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 outbreak.