Negative effect on remittance inflow feared

Shah Alam Nur | Published: January 23, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Manpower export has been hit hard by the ongoing blockade as hundreds of jobseekers are cancelling their flights following halt in transportation which is making it impossible for them to reach their destinations, insiders said.
They said the blockade has come as a massive blow to the sector over the last 17 days as on an average 70 per cent job seekers have cancelled their flight schedules which may also result in lower rate of remittance.
However, the number of both outbound and inbound passengers of the state-run and private airlines has declined by 25 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, officials said.
Manpower exporters said most of aspirants seeking job abroad live outside the capital city but due to the countrywide blockade they can't have any vehicle to carry their passengers; resulting in missing of flight schedules.
Many of the migrants, who came home on vacation, are also left stranded due to the halt in transportation. Â
Â "In last 17 days, manpower export declined by more than 70 per cent due to the countrywide blockade as most of job seekers are cancelling their schedules", president of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) Abul Bashar told the FE.
He said many of them have visas with them but they cannot leave the country for which they might lose their jobs.
Mr Bashar said: "None wants to take risk of life for coming to Dhaka in the present political environment to maintain flight schedule".
He said due to missing of the time schedule the agencies are also counting huge losses.
He said if the present situation continues, the remittance flow will be seriously affected.
Assistant general manager of United Airways Mohammad Kamrul Islam said in last 17 days the number of their inbound and outbound passengers has plunged nearly by 30 and 25 per cent respectively.
He said a large number of passengers go abroad through their airline but now the job aspirants are missing flight schedules.
While visiting the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) on Thursday this correspondent found hundreds of outbound passengers waiting for their flights.
Most of them came to the city two or three days back to make it sure that they not miss will flights.
Shahadat Hossain, a passenger who works in Saudi Arabia, set off for Dhaka from Kushtia on Thursday although his flight is on Sunday night.
He said he does not want to miss his flight to his destination because if he misses the schedule, he might lose his job.
Â "Two of my relatives missed the flight for Oman on January 8 due to the blockade," he said.
Delwar Hossain, another passenger, said: "My flight is scheduled for Friday night but I came early because of the countrywide blockade".
Meanwhile, many of the inbound passengers were in big trouble as they got no vehicles to reach their village homes.
Most of them are migrant workers who returned from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Malaysia.
They said they would lose their jobs if they fail to reach their destinations in time.
Nazrul Islam, who came from Singapore, said he wanted to go to Thakurgaon but was facing shortage of vehicle.
He said he landed at the airport ground at night but couldn't manage any vehicle to go to his home district despite waiting there even for 12 hours.
Anwar Hossain, who came from UAE, wanted to go to Dinajpur but was facing shortage of vehicle.
He said he returned to Bangladesh after four years but his relatives could not come to receive him at the airport due to the countrywide blockade.
An official at the HSIA said a passenger will be able to enter the passenger lobby when his flight is confirmed.
He said many passengers are coming earlier and staying under the open sky because they cannot be allowed to enter the lobby without confirmation of their flights.
According to Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), some 425,684 overseas job seekers went to different destinations last year while the figure was 409,253 in 2013.
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