Seven months after the inauguration of e-gates at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the authorities failed to make those operational for e-passport holders. The Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP), which installed six e-gates, is blaming the Special Branch (SB) of police for the delay in operations. The SB said it did not get the required server link from the DIP to make the e-gates operational. Immigration of e-passport holders is now being carried out manually.
The first-ever electronic gates at the airport were installed in June last year as a part of automation. Once the e-gates are in operation, cameras attached to the gates will identify the passengers automatically after analyzing information from the e-passport chips. This means, passengers will no longer be required to stand in queues for long, as the e-gates will open automatically for e-passport holders. The government had launched the e-passport programme in January 2020 to make the immigration process easier and enhance the international ratings of Bangladeshi passports. We know e-passports add an extra security layer than non-electronic passports by embedding a chip in the passport booklet that stores the biographical information visible on page 2 of the passport.
In the absence of access or link with the server, there are possibilities that a person who has no authorization to leave the country may pass through immigration. The government has planned to set up 50 e-gates gradually at all the airports and land ports across the country under the e-passport and automated border control management project. We think lack of coordination and focus are the prime causes for not being operationalized the system. The government invested money to ramp up the immigration process, however, the passport authorities made the investment a wastage. We ask the home ministry to ensure proper use of the long-hyped automation and digitization process, thus e-passport holders can pass the security gates without hassles.
