Bangladeshi Dhakai sarees torched at Kolkata rally
KOLKATA, Dec 8: The ongoing crisis in Bangladesh and subsequent non-arrival of travellers from there has led to a blow to the traders of a particular area in central Kolkata, which is popular among tourists from the neighbouring country for shopping and staying.
A section of those perplexed traders are staring at a void, while others are either looking at new avenues or decided to woo back the Indian customers they have lost in the past.
An estimated 15,000 families are now affected by the situation.
According to a trader, in the past, local customers and tourists from other states in India used to visit these areas for various purposes.
They were more or less ignored by the traders and their population gradually dwindled over the years.
“Now there is a big question mark. They don’t know what to do. they don’t know in which direction their business will go since they are dependent only on the Bangladeshis,” the National Committee Member of Travel Agents Federation of India (East India), Anil Punjabi, said.
He said the governments of both countries should hold a dialogue to resolve the situation as fast as possible.
With 80 to 85 per cent of Bangladeshis visiting Free School Street, Marquis Street, Sudder Street, Lindsay Street, Collin Lane and the adjoining areas for forex, airline tickets, hotels, restaurants and shopping, businessmen in this region became dependent on tourists from the neighbouring country, Free School Street Traders Association secretary, Hyder Ali Khan, said.
“All of us are in trouble as a result of the crisis,” Khan said, condemning the ongoing atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.
“I am 55 years old and grew up in this area. I have seen local people – Hindus and Muslims – shopping before Durga Puja and Eid in the area in my childhood,” Khan said.
Gradually everything changed due to the constant wooing only of Bangladeshi customers and therefore Indian tourists and even locals, started avoiding this area as it is full of Bangladeshi tourists, he narrated.
Protests across West Bengal
Protests were held in various parts of West Bengal on Sunday over the alleged atrocities on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.
Hundreds of people joined the protest rallies organised by Hindutva groups in Kolkata, Kanthi, Kakdwip, Sandeshkhali and Purulia, calling for the immediate release of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das.
At the demonstration outside the Salt Lake International Bus Terminus near Kolkata, protesters torched Dhakai Jamdani sarees from Bangladesh.
They called for a boycott of Bangladeshi goods, warning that Indians wouldn’t remain silent if the disrespect toward the tricolour and attacks on Hindus continued.
“We condemn the continuous targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh and the hate-driven narratives against India. We will not sit idle and with burning the Jamdani sarees, we urge people to boycott Bangladeshi products,” said a protestor.
“What kind of Bangladesh is this? The people who fought for liberation in 1971 now seem to be erasing their own history,” said another protestor.
Leading the protest rally in Kanthi, the state’s Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said ‘sanatanis’ were united against rising fundamentalist forces in Bangladesh.
When asked about anti-India statements by Bangladeshi groups, Adhikari said that following international protocol and UN guidelines, the Narendra Modi government will take appropriate steps at the right moment. (PTI)