Shillong, July 26: Indian students, who returned from Bangladesh through Agartala on July 20 due to unrest in that country, said they were anxious to return home, but didn’t feel insecure inside the campus.
“We felt safe inside our campus,” Merciful Syngkon, a 2nd year medical student at the Eastern Medical College and Hospitals (EMC) in Cumilla, said after returning home in Jowai, West Jaintia Hills.
Although they felt safe inside, the deteriorating law and order situation from July 17 made the students anxious and they held a meeting with the Chairman and Principal of the college. “We had a meeting and were reassured of our safety, but nonetheless it was decided that we would be sent back home through the quickest and safest route,” Syngkon recalled.
Cumilla is about 100 km from Dhaka – the epicentre of the violence. The Indian border is about 10 odd km away from the Cumilla district metropolis. Cumilla also reported violence, but with curfew declared throughout the country on July 20, the students moved in a convoy from the campus.
“There were many buses and cars with over 200 or more Indian students who moved out and we were provided escort by the Bangladesh security forces right to the border,” Mary Wriang from Umsning, Ri-Bhoi said. Wriang is a 1st year medical student from EMC.
The ride was smooth and took the students just 45 minutes to reach the Sonamura border in Agartala sector. “We didn’t see any people on the road due to the curfew and we reached the border in no time,” Syngkon added.
Meanwhile, most of the students have been informed that their colleges would remain closed till August 2. However, some of the students said they would not rush to join their colleges in Bangladesh and assess the situation before heading back.
Read: Anil Antony visits Shillong after appointment as Meghalaya in-charge
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