Siliguri traders call for boycott over B’deshi ‘atrocities’

Siliguri: Anger has been growing across India following reports of atrocities in Bangladesh, including the brutal killing of Dipu Chandra Das. The incident has sparked strong reactions in Siliguri, where residents and traders have openly condemned the violence and demanded a complete boycott of Bangladesh.

Business owners from the Siliguri Junction area have intensified the protest, calling for an end to all services for Bangladeshi nationals in the city and a halt on the sale of Bangladeshi goods. As part of the protest, a hotel located in the Junction area has announced that it will no longer allow Bangladeshi tourists to stay on its premises. Posters reading “Boycott Bangladesh” have been put up at the hotel.

In addition, some vehicle drivers have pasted similar stickers on their vehicles and stopped providing transport services to Bangladeshi citizens.

Dilip Mallick, the manager of the hotel said: “Bangladeshis receive various facilities in India, yet incidents of violence against Bengalis and Hindus continue in Bangladesh. Such actions are unacceptable and therefore our hotel has decided not to accommodate Bangladeshi tourists”.

Echoing similar sentiments, a local trader from the Junction area, Sujan Das, said: “We want all import and export activities between India and Bangladesh to be stopped.

Services such as transport, hotels, sale of goods and even medical facilities should no longer be extended to Bangladeshi nationals. We demand a complete boycott of Bangladesh.”

Meanwhile, protests were reported on Wednesday at the Indo-Bangladesh border in Fulbari near Siliguri.

Demonstrators blocked a truck from Bangladesh and staged a sit-in, halting the movement of all Bangladesh-bound trucks for several hours while demanding a ban on exports to Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi nationals regularly travel to India for tourism, education, medical treatment and trade.