No Bangladeshi tourists, Kolkata’s business and commerce collapse
Last Updated on November 12, 2024 5:23 am
The heart of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, used to be lively and bustling with the footfall of Bangladeshi tourists. More than 100 hotels and more than 3,000 shops in Kolkata were mainly dependent on tourists and customers from Bangladesh. Now, sales have dropped by up to 70 percent.
Since last August, the decrease in the number of Bangladeshis visiting Kolkata has left the traders there in a state of disarray.
In this regard, Mantosh Sarkar, a member of the executive committee of the Kolkata Residential Hotel and Restaurant Owners Association, said, “Since July, only four to five of the 30 rooms in my hotel have been occupied by Bangladeshi guests. Before the student movement of last July and the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 26 to 28 Bangladeshi guests used to stay in the hotel at this time.”
In this situation, the owners of some small residential hotels with 12 or less rooms have practically decided to close them. Because it is no longer possible to run a business with a couple of guests a day!
In this regard, Mantosh Sarkar said, ‘The situation is very similar. As we saw in 2021 during the travel ban during the Covid-19 pandemic.’
A resident of Chittagong named Rezen Biswas is currently staying in a deserted hotel in Kolkata. He said that earlier there was a commotion with Bangladeshi guests.
This Bangladeshi said, ‘After the unrest started in Bangladesh, the Indian government has imposed restrictions on issuing new visas, due to which the arrival of Bangladeshis in Kolkata has decreased.’
Rezen Biswas also said, ‘I had a visa, so I was able to come to Kolkata. However, those who are now applying for a new visa are not being given visas. They are being given only if someone needs urgent medical treatment.’
Shopkeepers in Kolkata New Market, who usually sell more to Bangladeshi customers, are now sitting in despair. They fear that if the current situation in Bangladesh continues for a few more days and the Indian government continues to tighten visa restrictions, the micro-economy of the area will be destroyed.
There is a shop in Kolkata New Market called Choco Nut. It mainly sells chocolate, nuts, spices and cosmetics. The shop used to exclusively target Bangladeshi customers and used to sell Tk 3.5 lakh per day, which has now come down to just Tk 35,000.
The shop’s owner, Md. Shahabuddin, said that now some customers are coming with medical visas. However, those who used to come earlier for travel or who used to buy goods from New Market and sell them in Dhaka have stopped coming at all.
In this regard, Ajay Shwe, owner of a 124-year-old cosmetics shop in Kolkata called Royal Store, said that the customer profile of New Market started changing after 2008-09. At that time, although the number of local customers decreased, there was no problem in the welfare of Bangladeshi customers. Since then, Kolkata New Market has become quite popular among Bangladeshi customers. Almost all the shops here suit their needs and tastes.
But the recent events in Bangladesh and India’s visa ban have seen a decline in customers, laments the veteran Kolkata businessman. Earlier, 25-30 Bangladeshi customers used to come every day, each spending around Rs 15,000. Now, not even 5 Bangladeshi customers come every day, and their spending has come down to Rs 10,000.
The future is uncertain for these Kolkata traders. They fear that if the current situation in Bangladesh continues for a few more years and the visa ban continues, the local economy of this Bangladeshi-dominated hub of Kolkata will be destroyed.
Source: Times of India