Bangladesh has also been reported to have intensified controls on the granting of visas to the citizens of India amid growing tension between the two countries at the diplomatic level and has extended the restrictions to its diplomatic missions in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. A report released by Dhaka Tribune confirms that late on Wednesday night, the decision was endorsed by the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the new restrictions, every type of visa of Indian citizens has been terminated, except business and employment visas. The prohibitions were implemented since Thursday. The ministry claimed that completely stopped consular and visa services at the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata. Also, the missions in Mumbai and Chennai in Bangladesh have suspended tourist visa as well as other non-essential visa services to Indians.
According to diplomatic sources quoted by the Dhaka Tribune the step was undertaken due to security reasons on the basis of increasing tension in bilateral relations between the two neighbouring States. The new ruling is another restriction of the visa standards after a series of other measures over the past few weeks.
The protest had led, on December 22, the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi to suspend visa services indefinitely following protests outside the mission. Messages dispatched by the missions in New Delhi and Agartala contemporary with this quoted unavoidable circumstances as the cause of the discontinuance of the consular and visa activity.
The decisions are also dependent on the indefinite shutdown of the Indian visa application centre in Chittagong, Bangladesh due to the increased security concerns. The latter was following mass demonstrations that were associated with the murder of an influential student leader Osman Hadi, as well as the lynching of a Hindu employee, Dipu Chandra Das, which only served to fuel the situation and create unrest.
As the visa services have now been capped in various missions in India, the move will have an effect on travel, tourism and people to people relationship between India and Bangladesh.
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