Shillong, July 20: 40 students of Meghalaya successfully crossed into India through the Srimantapur Land Port in Tripura on Saturday evening from violence hit Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi Forces escorted them till the Indian border and handed them over to Border Security Force (BSF) of India.
Indian students are returning to India through different ICPs along the Tripura state due to the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh. Indian and foreign students who are studying in Bangladesh are returning to India as the agitation has now become violent.
Srimantapur Land Port is under the Sonamura sub-division, and around 63 kms from Agartala in Tripura. BSF personnel stationed at the Agartala Integrated Check Post (ICP) allowed the students and others to enter India after confirming they had valid documents.
Among these are 40 students of Meghalaya, mostly are medical students. Atleast 30 of them are from the Eastern Medical College (EMC) in Dhaka.
Upon their arrival, they were provided with refreshments. The students are enroute to Shillong on the super deluxe sleeper coaches arranged by the Meghalaya government at the Sonamura border.
Informing of the safe arrival of the students in Tripura and thanking the officials for their coordination in the evacuation, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on his social handle: “Our medical students from Bangladesh have safely crossed Sonamura border in Tripura. All the formalities are being completed for their onward journey to Shillong. Thank you Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar ji and Hon’ble CM Tripura Dr. Manik Saha ji for all arrangements and BSF for all assistance. The safe evacuation of our citizens was possible because of the collaborative effort of our officers, MEA, Indian Embassy in Bangladesh and all stakeholders. I put on record my sincere appreciation to all.”
Officials from Government of Meghalaya have been in constant touch with authorities in Indian Embassy in Bangladesh for ensuring safe evacuation of the students. They are also tirelessly coordinating with their counterparts in Tripura and other States for the safe evacuation of its students still stranded in Bangladesh.
Besides students from Meghalaya, the State government is also facilitating, in collaboration with Tripura government officials, the safe repatriation of Indian students from other states. 140 students crossed the Sonamura border, 40 through Akhaura on Saturday and 200 more are on their way to return to India through Tripura.
Meanwhile BSF said it is closely monitoring the situation across the border and troops are on high alert. IG, BSF, Tripura Frontier, Patel Piyush Purushottam Das has assured all possible assistance to these students and has further spoken to the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) officers for cooperation at their end.
BSF has made all necessary arrangements including refreshments and transport at the ICP to facilitate smooth arrival and further movement of these students to their destination.
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