Bangladeshis stranded in Australia coming home, Indians leaving Dhaka
Stranded Indian nationals in Bangladesh would be evacuated in phases
A total of 157 Bangladeshis, who were stranded in Australia due to the Covid-19 pandemic, left Melbourne for Dhaka on a special SriLankan Airlines flight on Friday.
According to the Bangladesh High Commission in Canberra, these passengers were stranded in Australia due to the ban on international flights amid the coronavirus outbreak.
All passengers were notified to carry up-to-date "Covid-19 symptom-free" or "Covid-19 negative" certificates issued within three days before their departure, it said.
The flight will land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 12:40 am today.
The High Commission of Bangladesh in Canberra facilitated the return with support from Bangladeshi and Australian authorities and with active cooperation from the Victorian Bangladeshi Community Foundation and Melton Travel Center.
Meanwhile, the government of India on Friday started repatriating its nationals who were stranded in Bangladesh amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A special Air India flight carrying 170 students from various medical colleges in Dhaka left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Srinagar in the morning, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
It also said the stranded Indian nationals in Bangladesh would be evacuated in phases.
As part of the first phase, six more flights of Air India will carry Indian nationals to Srinagar on May 12 and 13, to Delhi on May 9 and 11, to Mumbai on May 10, and to Chennai on May 14.
In a span of a week, each of the flights will carry nearly 170 passengers.
Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Riva Ganguly Das was in constant touch with the students and resolved their various issues like food, lodging and finance in close cooperation with the principals of the medical colleges, who had been "most generous" with their support in this difficult time.
She was present at the airport to see the first batch of Indians off and interacted with them.