India-B'desh border to be open for 24 hours so students, other stranded can evacuate

Agartala/Guwahati: The border between Bangladesh and India will be open for 24 hours to allow students and other citizens of India and other countries to escape from trouble-torn neighbouring country, where unrest over the quota issue has kept the situation very unstable for the past three weeks.

A Border Security Force (BSF) spokesperson said that the Tripura Frontier Inspector General (IG) of the force, Patel Piyush Purushottam Das, and other senior officials are in close contact with the Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Bangladesh Police to evacuate the India-bound students and other people.

"The BSF is closely monitoring the situation across the border and troops are on high alert," the spokesman told IANS, adding that the Tripura Frontier IG has assured all possible assistance to the students and other people entering India through various checkposts.

He said that the BSF has made all necessary arrangements including refreshments and transport at the check posts to facilitate smooth arrival and further movement of these students to their destinations.

Students from India and other countries who are studying in Bangladesh are returning to India as the students' agitation has now become violent in the neighbouring country.

According to BSF sources, over 600 students from India, Nepal, and Bhutan along with some stranded tourists from trouble-torn Bangladesh returned to India on Saturday through the checkposts of Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya along the border with the neighbouring country.

Over 600 students, mostly Indian, returned to India on Friday through the Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya borders.

"The students of India and other countries are mainly coming from Dhaka, Comilla and Brahmanbaria. The Indian students belong to northeastern states, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir," the BSF spokesman said.

Five Indian states -- West Bengal (2,216 km), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km) share a 4,096-km border with Bangladesh.

Officials from the state governments of northeastern states along with police and BSF officials are camping in the various checkposts in Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya to receive the students and other people from Bangladesh.

The High Commission in Dhaka and the Assistant High Commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Khulna are available on helpline numbers for any assistance required by the Indian nationals.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in Delhi that around 15,000 Indian nationals, including 8,500 students, reside in Bangladesh.

He said that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is monitoring the situation, while the High Commission in Dhaka will provide regular updates on the situation there.

Meanwhile, the External Affairs Ministry has urged Indian nationals in Bangladesh to follow the advisory issued by the High Commission in Dhaka and to be in touch with the High Commission.

Bangladesh has announced the imposition of a curfew and the deployment of military forces after police failed to quell days of deadly unrest that has spread throughout the country.

Violence erupted in the country after protests by students demanding reforms in the quota system for government jobs.

The clashes between student demonstrators and police have killed at least 105 people so far.

With inputs from IANS