Low key 'Bangladesh Vijay Diwas' celebrations in Tripura due to fresh border curbs amid Omicron scare

Office of the Assistant High Commissioner Bangladesh in Tripura is all set to celebrate the fifty years of Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War with gaiety and pomp.

However, the programmes could not be arranged the way it was previously decided due to fresh curbs imposed on international travel in the wake of detection of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Assistant High Commissioner Bangladesh Mohammad Jobayed Hosen said, "On December 16, 2021, Bangladesh is set to celebrate the 50th victory year. We will also observe the day with a lot of arrangements. The observation of the day will start with the hoisting of the national flag at the high commission office followed by reading out of messages issued by the leaders of Bangladesh. A minute of silence would be observed commemorating the sacrifices of liberation war and floral tributes would be paid to the portraits of father of the nation Sheikh Majibur Rahman."

According to him, some artists from Bangladesh are also expected to come over here but chances are rare due to the fresh barriers.

Tripura Legislative Assembly speaker Ratan Chakraborty will attend the function along with artists, reciters and other cultural personalities.

On being asked about the fresh restrictions, Hosen said, "The sudden arrival of the Omicron variant of the COVID has made the authorities of both the countries a bit anxious. Some curbs have been put in place such as earlier the RT-PCR negative certificate before 72 hours of passenger movement was required while now the time frame has been reduced to 48 hours. Apart from that, Visas are also being considered in view of urgency. So, we are hopeful that things take positive turns soon."

To a separate question, he said, "There are four land ports across the state through which movement of passengers takes place. But, right now, only one land port that is located at Agartala is open. The others are open for trade but not for passenger movement. Similar is the case with Border Hats. The concerned authorities are monitoring and reviewing the situation at regular intervals. One thing that can be said very clearly, if there were no Omicron, better progress could have been made in this aspect."

( With inputs from ANI )