nigel osborne
There are far more Bengalis living in Birmingham than there are in Manchester.Having worked in Small Heath for many years I know the community really wanted a service from Birmingham,but forced to go to LHR, then for a while Manchester.
I agree, Manchester have less than 4000 ethnic Bengali’s where as Birmingham have 23,700. Oldham have around 11,200 ethnic Bengali’s but are more concentrated around a single area. Even in region comparison the West Midlands have more Bengali’s than the North West.
It’s not just the statistics but everything related to Bangladesh, Birmingham is always the second destination for any events such as Bangladeshi politics, Bengali cultural events, Bangladeshi awards, Bangladeshi community projects and so much more.
The ethnic Bengali population need to get together and do something similar to the Punjabi community, who have a campaign called Fly India Direct from Birmingham. They have the full backing of the Birmingham council leader, Birmingham Airport and West Midlands business community.