Two Bangladeshi families stuck in Vellore since the start of the lockdown hitched a ride on a special bus carrying 24 people from West Bengal and reached Kolkata on Saturday travelling 1,800km, Times of India reports citing TNN.
They are still 390km away from home and need to cross the India-Bangladesh border at Petrapole. This will be the main hurdle as movement across the border has been suspended.
Monir Hossain (50), a functionary of Bangladesh Football Federation, was among the six Bangladeshis, who reached Esplanade from Vellore, with his 27-year-old wheelchair-borne son.
The Bangladesh deputy high commission’s office near Park Circus allotted them vehicle permits till the Petrapole border and the two families hired two yellow taxis, paying Rs 7,000 for each vehicle for the journey.
“We have been stuck in India for the last two months. We were here for my son’s treatment and got stuck in the lockdown. Now that we have managed to come so far we will try our luck in crossing the border and attempt to reach our home in Dhaka,” said Hossain.
Hossain, an assistant referee with Fifa, said they had reached Vellore on March 11 for the treatment of his son, who had suffered a spine fracture and brain haemorrhage in a bike accident last year. The surgery was slated for March 30, but it couldn’t take place due to the lockdown.
“We tried to return home by air, rail and road but failed. We even tried to get tickets for the special US-Bangla flight, on which each ticket was priced at Rs 32,000. But even those were sold out. Finally, a group of Bengali men, who were in the same lodge where we stayed, came to our rescue,” he said.
Hossain said, he paid Rs 15,000 per head to book three seats on the special bus that started on May 6 night and reached the city on Saturday afternoon.
“The journey was tough as we were left with little food. But cops helped us all through,” said Imran Billa, another Bangladeshi national and a businessman.
