29 lakh SIMs left Dhaka in two days

People with some 16.72 lakh mobile connections left Dhaka on April 19, as holidaymakers are travelling to their homes to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr.

On April 18, people with 12.28 SIMs left Dhaka, meaning that travellers with total 29 lakh SIMs left Dhaka in two days.

Telecom Minister Mustafa Jabbar disclosed the information at a post on his verified Facebook account today.

However, people with 6.32 lakh SIMs entered Dhaka on April 19.

People with total 13 lakh SIMs entered Dhaka in the two days, counting people with 6.67 SIMs that entered on 18 April.

"I have collected data from the mobile operators. I think people started leaving Dhaka on a big scale since April 17," Jabbar told The Daily Star on Wednesday.

However, it couldn't be determined how many people exactly left or entered Dhaka with the figures, as a person can have multiple SIMs, the minister said.

"A person can use as many as 15 mobile connections. But on an average, each people have 1.5 SIMs."

Out of the 18 crore SIM users in circulation, 12 crore are unique mobile users, he said.

On the other hand, there are millions of children, elderly and poor people who have no handsets, according to the industry people.