Saudi-Arabia migration seekers vandalised a pavilion of the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry at “Digital World-2015” yesterday.
The incident took place around noon at the four-day long IT fair organised by Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
Witnesses said the vandalism began after authorities stopped distributing migration forms because of overcrowding.
A form seeker, Abdul Momen, from Gazipur, said: “When we heard about the registration, we came here, despite the hartal. But instead, we found a large crowd and few form distributors. Then many forcefully entered the pavilion and vandalised it after the authorities concerned stopped distributing.”
Amjad Hossain, another Saudi Arabia migration seeker, asked: “Why is there an analog system for registration at a digital fair? The ministry can provide information at a stall but why should we fill and submit forms here?”
He added: “If we had filled forms online, such a dangerous situation would not have happened, and we would not have suffered.”
The police brought the situation under control, while the authorities concerned shifted their pavilion’s goods and equipments elsewhere.
Tejgaon Zone Deputy Commissioner Biplob Sarkar told Dhaka Tribune: “Although the venue is the same, the pavilion was separated from the fair. If we were informed earlier, this situation would not have occurred.”
The authorities later announced migration seekers would come to Probashi Kallyan Bhaban on February 11 for registration.
BASIS president Shamim Ahsan could not be reached for comments.
However, BASIS Public Relations Officer Badruzza Mahmud Tuhin said: “The incident occurred because too many papers were distributed from the same stall. But to calm the situation, we temporarily stopped the form distribution.”
Ministry PR Officer Shahidul Alam Majumder said: “I know nothing about this. The Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) has responsibility over this.”
