Last updated:
Bangladeshi citizens undergo inspection at the India-Bangladesh border checkpoint. (Image source: PTI)
The number of people arriving from Bangladesh for treatment has been falling in the last month since the unrest escalated.
The ongoing unrest in Bengal has led to a sharp drop in the number of people visiting Kolkata hospitals from neighboring countries, officials said.
They said the downward trend has continued over the past month since the riots.
“More than 180 Bangladeshi patients visit our hospital every day. Today the number has reduced to 84. On Monday it was 129,” Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra told PTI.
Other private healthcare facilities such as Manipal Hospitals, Fortis Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals have also seen a similar drop in the number of patients from neighboring countries.
A senior official said that Manipal Hospital in the city is currently treating around 37 patients from Bangladesh, mostly from Bangladesh, across three hospitals in the city (Broadway Hospital, Dhakuria Hospital and Mukundapur Hospital). Most were admitted before consular services in Dhaka were shut down earlier this month.
“The three units have a monthly footfall of about 2,300 people, compared with about 1,500 last month. Nine patients were admitted on Tuesday, including a kidney transplant patient. They had obtained their visas at least a month ago, and confirmed the appointment date.
According to an official at Fortis Hospital, Bangladeshi patients who were supposed to come this month are calling every day to ask for rescheduling.
“This includes both outdoor and indoor patients. We currently have two patients admitted to our hospital.
At Apollo, six patients from Bangladesh are currently admitted in various wards, an official said, acknowledging that the number of such patients coming for treatment had dropped.
“The number of patients coming to our Kolkata department from Bangladesh has dropped sharply. It has dropped by 50 per cent and this is likely to continue until the situation in Bengal returns to normalcy a little,” the official said.
Speaking to PTI, the CEO of Peerless Hospital said that this downward trend will continue in the coming days.
“However, we feel that this is just a temporary phase and normalcy will return soon and more patients will arrive. We are more worried about their social well-being in Kolkata until they manage to return home. We are providing everything to them Help,” Mitra said.
Stay up to date on the latest unrest in Bangladesh with our live blog.
(This report has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from United News Agency-PTI)
