Staff Reporter :
Hundreds of Saudi expatriates stranded in the country for more than seven months due to the pandemic continued demonstration in front of Saudi Airlines office in the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital Karwan Bazar area demanding tickets for returning to their workplaces in Gulf country.
At one stage, the agitated people broke the main gate of the hotel.
Then, police charged batons on angry expatriates outside the airlines office to restore discipline there.
Yet, the Saudi Airlines authorities resumed sale of tickets and distribution of tokens for expatriates after a brief disruption.
All the gates of Sonargaon Hotel have been opened and Saudi Airlines authorities giving them a form asked to furnish their visa-related information.
According to the airlines, the workers whose visa will expire soon will be given tickets. Contrarily, not everyone received the form.
Witnesses said a number of Bangladeshi expatriates thronged outside the Saudi Airlines office early Sunday. As the gates of the office was opened in the morning, a huge number of expatriates started to rush in around 9:30am.
Later, police charged batons to disperse them.
Abdur Rashid, Officer-in-Charge of Hatirjheel Police Station, said additional policemen had been deployed to avert further trouble.
The sale of tickets and distribution of token remained suspended for some time. Later, the issuing of tickets was opened in the afternoon.
Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia have been eagerly waiting to return to their workplace in the kingdom as countries ease coronavirus restrictions.
They came home with return tickets, but could not go back due to a shortage of Biman flights amid the pandemic.
Many expatriates said their visas will expire on October 15, but they do not know whether they will be able to join their workplaces in time or not.
Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants also gathered outside the office of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines in Motijheel to collect their tickets and get their tokens for the tickets.
Hundreds of Bangladeshi migrant workers have been staging demonstrations for weeks, blocking the Karwan Bazar intersection and protesting over their failure to get tickets to return to their workplaces in the Middle Eastern country.
On September 23, the Saudi government announced that it would extend the Iqama (work permit) and visa-duration by 24 days for those Bangladeshis whose documents would expire by September 30. If required, further assistance will be provided by the government.
Home to more than 22 lakh Bangladeshis, Saudi Arabia is the prime destination of Bangladeshi migrant workers and the biggest remittance-generating country for Bangladesh.
Hundreds of Saudi expatriates stranded in the country for more than seven months due to the pandemic continued demonstration in front of Saudi Airlines office in the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital Karwan Bazar area demanding tickets for returning to their workplaces in Gulf country.
At one stage, the agitated people broke the main gate of the hotel.
Then, police charged batons on angry expatriates outside the airlines office to restore discipline there.
Yet, the Saudi Airlines authorities resumed sale of tickets and distribution of tokens for expatriates after a brief disruption.
All the gates of Sonargaon Hotel have been opened and Saudi Airlines authorities giving them a form asked to furnish their visa-related information.
According to the airlines, the workers whose visa will expire soon will be given tickets. Contrarily, not everyone received the form.
Witnesses said a number of Bangladeshi expatriates thronged outside the Saudi Airlines office early Sunday. As the gates of the office was opened in the morning, a huge number of expatriates started to rush in around 9:30am.
Later, police charged batons to disperse them.
Abdur Rashid, Officer-in-Charge of Hatirjheel Police Station, said additional policemen had been deployed to avert further trouble.
The sale of tickets and distribution of token remained suspended for some time. Later, the issuing of tickets was opened in the afternoon.
Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia have been eagerly waiting to return to their workplace in the kingdom as countries ease coronavirus restrictions.
They came home with return tickets, but could not go back due to a shortage of Biman flights amid the pandemic.
Many expatriates said their visas will expire on October 15, but they do not know whether they will be able to join their workplaces in time or not.
Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants also gathered outside the office of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines in Motijheel to collect their tickets and get their tokens for the tickets.
Hundreds of Bangladeshi migrant workers have been staging demonstrations for weeks, blocking the Karwan Bazar intersection and protesting over their failure to get tickets to return to their workplaces in the Middle Eastern country.
On September 23, the Saudi government announced that it would extend the Iqama (work permit) and visa-duration by 24 days for those Bangladeshis whose documents would expire by September 30. If required, further assistance will be provided by the government.
Home to more than 22 lakh Bangladeshis, Saudi Arabia is the prime destination of Bangladeshi migrant workers and the biggest remittance-generating country for Bangladesh.
