157 Bangladeshis stranded in Australia coming home, Indians leaving Dhaka
A total of 157 Bangladeshis, who were stranded in Australia as a result of Covid-19 pandemic, left Melbourne for Dhaka on a special SriLankan Airlines flight on Friday.
In line with 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 transport 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 AIRPORT TERMINAL at 12:40 am Saturday.
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 particular Air India flight carrying 170 students from various medical colleges in Dhaka left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for Srinagar each morning, said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka.
In addition, it said the stranded Indian nationals in Bangladesh would be evacuated in phases.
Within 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 Chennai on May 14.
In a span of weekly, each one of the flights will carry nearly 170 passengers.
Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Riva Ganguly Das was in continuous touch with the students and resolved their various problems 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.
