Travel thru� Benapole with handwritten passport stopped
UNB
Benapole: Travel has been stopped between two neighboring countries India and Bangladesh with handwritten passport through Benapole border from Thursday, reports UNB. The immigration authorities at Benapole check post put an end to the effectiveness of the handwritten passports for entering India from Bangladesh and vice versa.
Tariqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Benapole immigration check post, said they took the decision following a directive from the Home Ministry. Immigration police bared four Indian citizens and a Bangladeshi from crossing the border point using handwritten passports in the last two days.
On July 29, Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry took a decision that no Bangladeshi citizen would be allowed to travel abroad with handwritten passport from November 24. The ministry came up with the decision following directives of International Civil Aviation Organisation and also asked all Bangladeshi passport holders, both at home and abroad, to swap their handwritten passports with the new machine readable ones by November 24.
