Increased facilities fail to end plight of Indian visa-seekers

The woes of Indian visa-seekers have not been reduced even after increased facilities and slots for visa due to growing number of aspirants for visits to the neighbouring country for business, medical, tourists and many other reasons.
The crowd in front of the Indian visa office is becoming larger day by day. This also has become a headache for visa-seekers as well as neighbours of the visa office. Many people do not get a date for interview even after four months following online submission of  applications. Some get the date but during interview, they are being asked to apply again without showing any valid reason.
"I applied online for a medical visa but there is no date for interview even after four months," said Mostafa Shamsur Rahman, a businessman, who was supposed to go to India for his wife's treatment.
The medical trip was urgent for his wife as they had an appointment with a doctor in India late this month.
The Indian High Commission and concerned sources said the number of visa-seekers has shot up many times in recent months.
"The Indian visa offices--two in Dhaka and four in Rajshahi, Chittagong, Khulna and Sylhet--issue 3,000 slots for interview a day," Sujit Ghosh, First Secretary (Political & Information) of the Indian High Commission told the FE.
"We do not know how many applicants everyday try for interview date through online visa application system but we fix 3,000 slots for a day," he said. He pointed to the rush of visa-seekers in front of the visa office.
There are many complaints that the visa office rejects many applications for no reason and suggests applying again.
Abul Kalam Azad, a student of the Dhaka University, sought a tourist visa in March and got a date in April but on the interview day, officials asked him to apply again.
He asked for the reason but concerned officials did not say anything.
Mr Sujit Ghosh said India has not taken any measure to restrict issuing visas. If such things happen, there must be a definite reason.
"The Indian visa system has been liberalised. We have five more offices for issuing visas and started issuing multiple ones", he said.
He said if anybody needs urgent visa for medical or any other reason, she/he can use email addresses: [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected].
"They can write to us informing about emergencies. We will give  all-out support to the needy. The Indian High Commission is very flexible in giving visas for medical purpose," said Mr Sujit Ghosh.
Pankaj Saran, the Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh, said at a recent programme said India is set to relax the visa procedures for Bangladeshi nationals and increase the number of visa centres in the country to meet the increasing demand for visas. He, however, did not elaborate.
On February 06 this year, India decided to introduce visa-on-arrival facility to tourists from Bangladesh and 179 other countries with effect from October in an effort to boost tourism.
However, India did not change the current visa procedures until now, and it advised the Bangladeshi nationals to follow the ongoing procedures for visiting India. They said it would take five to six months to put the required infrastructure in place.
Around 0.6 million, mostly tourists and patients, visit India annually.