Kolkata's medical tourism down over political unrest in Bangladesh

Kolkata : Many hospitals in Kolkata serve hundreds of patients that come from the neighbouring Bangladesh. However, due to the current political unrest in Bangladesh, Kolkata is seeing a significant fall in the number of patients.

Some doctors are also worried, critically ill patients from Bangladesh will not be able to keep their appointments, falling behind on their treatment, as visa approvals have been halted amidst the ongoing crisis stemming from student protests, curfew and communication restrictions.

"According to estimates, India witnessed a 48 per cent rise in medical tourists from Bangladesh in 2023, compared to 2022," reports said citing a doctor at Nephro Care India Limited.

"As many as 4.49 lac patients from Bangladesh came to India in 2023, and a significant majority of them usually come to West Bengal for treatment," reports added.

"The ongoing stir in Bangladesh will lead to some realignment and rescheduling of their travel plans," further mentioned the reports.

A representative of Manipal Group of Hospitals in Kolkata, said, as per reports, "Footfall is beginning to reduce from July 20 since the Indian Embassy at Dhaka stopped issuing visas from July 19."

"Our average footfall from Bangladesh is around 2,500 across our three hospitals in Kolkata, including OPD and IP, which has gone down to around 1,800 since agitation started in Bangladesh. It's likely to go down further from next week, particularly the OPD footfall," said reports citing the official.

As travel is being restricted across the India-Bangladesh border, it has become harder for patients to reach their scheduled medical appointments. Trains and buses have been cancelled and cross-border travel poses safety issues for many.

Whether the industry will bounce back depends on the resolution of the ongoing nationwide crisis in Bangladesh. However, medical experts of Kolkata expressed their hopes that it will.