'You do not give respect to our country, so there is no place for you in our country'. After Siliguri, Malda, and Cooch Behar, hotel businessmen in Balurghat have also closed their doors to Bangladeshis. Hotel businessmen have started putting up posters after taking this decision collectively. Common people are happy with this decision of the hotel businessmen.
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Travel agents also stop ticket bookings amid rising border tensions
Not just hotels, travel businessmen have also stopped issuing e-tickets for trains and flights to Bangladeshis. Rupkartha Majumdar of Balurghat says, 'We stopped Bangladesh ticket services long ago. We have decided not to issue any kind of train or flight tickets for them. My country comes first.'
After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, India-Bangladesh relations have deteriorated. Anti-India slogans are being continuously raised from across the border. Multiple incidents of persecution of minorities in that country are coming to light. The mercury of anger is rising among common people. Border districts have felt this impact more. Meanwhile, the number of people crossing through the Hili International Land Port in South Dinajpur district has decreased significantly. Currently, citizens of both countries are traveling with old visas. Now on average 100 people are traveling, according to immigration department sources.
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There are 22 hotels, big and small combined, in Balurghat town and adjoining areas. All hotel owners have jointly decided that they will no longer rent rooms to any Bangladeshi citizens. A hotel owner named Shiben Laha says, 'I have put up a poster at the reception saying we will not rent hotels to Bangladeshis.' Another hotel owner Supriyo Bose says, 'How can we let them stay in hotels when they are giving anti-India slogans.'
