India unveils world's largest visa centre in Bangladesh
Dhaka, July 14 : Visiting Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday inaugurated the world's largest state-of-the-art visa centre here with modern facilities, promising shorter waiting times for applicants.
Singh inaugurated the integrated centre at Jamuna Future Park (JFP) along with his Bangladeshi counterpart Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, reports bdnews24.
Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who was also present, told the media that "this is the largest Indian visa centre in the world and possibly the largest anywhere".
The new centre will replace the existing centres in Motijheel and Uttara from July 15.
The remaining two centres in Dhaka -- at Gulshan and Mirpur Road -- will also be shifted to this centre, located in a spacious 18,500 square feet commercial area, by August 31.
The existing e-token (appointment) system for submission of visa applications will also be withdrawn from July 15.
Bangladeshis constitute one of the largest numbers of visitors from a single country to India, the report said. Last year the country issued 1.4 million visas to Bangladeshi nationals.
India has 12 visa centres in Bangladesh, which is the highest number the former has in any country in the world, the report said.
India issues five-year multiple entry visas for freedom fighters, senior citizens and businessmen.
On Friday, Singh tweeted that India and Bangladesh have made "notable progress in transforming our land and maritime boundaries into zones of peace and tranquillity".
His three-day visit is taking place in the context of the Home-Minister level talks held on a regular basis between India and Bangladesh, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said.
The last such talks were held in New Delhi in July 2016.
Issues tied to security, border management, cooperation in countering illegal activities and travel arrangements are expected to be discussed at a meeting on Sunday.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
