48hrs deadline spells trouble for Saudi-bound migrant workers
The Saudi authorities have a set a 48-hour deadline for Bangladeshi migrant staff to attain the kingdom after giving sample for coronavirus test.
With little time to get ready for the flight and only 1 centre to provide samples, the Bangladeshi expatriates say they are facing trouble.
At least 150,000 Bangladeshis have already been stranded in the home after returning from different countries amid the coronavirus outbreak, reports bdnews24.com.
Most of them - around 70,000 - originated from Saudi Arabia.
Saudia and Biman Bangladesh Airlines are reissuing return tickets that were booked earlier now. They are also set to resume regular flights soon.
The decisions ended days of protests in Dhaka for air tickets recently, but the migrant workers remain struggling because of the shortage of time.
They say the Saudi authorities should extend the deadline to at least 72 hours to ease the crisis.
The authorities are collecting samples from overseas travellers for COVID-19 test at DNCC Isolation Centre in the capital’s Mohakhali.
People now begin arriving at the centre to queue as early as midnight.
Nurul Islam from Keraniganj said he came at 5:30am on Sunday and finally gave the sample at 12:30pm.
He had in the beginning taken a coronavirus-negative certificate after undergoing the test at an exclusive hospital as, he says, the Saudia officials had told him that test from any authorised centre would suffice.
He was among 32 travellers who were turned away by the immigration authorities at the airport.
“We have to undergo COVID-19 test here. Now we are scheduled to catch the flight tomorrow (Monday),” Nurul said.
Jamal Uddin from Brahmanbaria’s Nabinagar also complained that the Bangladeshi expatriates were facing issuesa because of too little information.
Brig Gen Md Jobayedur Rahman, the director of the DNCC Corona Isolation Centre, said they are collecting samples from up to 4,000 travellers a day.
Those who have their flights sooner than others are being prioritised.
The authorities designated the centre for the Saudi-bound travellers since it is not definately not the airport.
Bangladeshis bound for other countries than Saudi Arabia will get the studies done at authorised centres outside Dhaka aswell.
