The ongoing unrest in Bangladesh has led to widespread protests, prompting students from India, Nepal, and other countries to return home through various Immigration Check Posts (ICPs), including Phulbari-Banglabandha near Siliguri.

Today, a group of students from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University (BSMRSTU) in Gopalganj, Bangladesh, most of whom are Nepalese residents, crossed the Indo-Bangladesh border at Fulbari due to the escalating violence in Bangladesh.

Due to the lack of internet services in the neighbouring country, some students had to take the risk of returning home on their own after being unable to contact their parents for the last three days.

Additionally, many Indians residing in north Bengal have also cut short their plans in Bangladesh and returned home.

An elderly man from Hatiadanga in Siliguri had to travel on a two-wheeler from Bangladesh out of fear of further violence.

Asmita Karki, a student from Kathmandu in Nepal, arrived in Siliguri today via the Fulbari border.

Another Nepalese student, Lalan Thakur, studying B Pharm in Bangladesh, also had to leave and reach Siliguri today due to the critical situation over the past three days.

Thakur stated that they were confined to their rooms as per instructions from local authorities and were constantly living in fear of more violence while their parents worried about them.

The administration had advised them to leave Bangladesh due to the deteriorating situation there, he added.

Asmita Karki, a student of veterinary medicine at a university in Bangladesh, shared her experience saying, “We are a group of 10 Nepalese students, who hired a car from our university campus last night and took rural roads instead of highways to reach Banglabandha in Bangladesh where we crossed the border. We encountered road blocks in some places and were forced to give money to the protesters in order to pass through their barricades.”

According to Ms Karki, the campus of my university was calm and we received full support and security from the university authorities during protests.

However, she mentioned that if the situation becomes unmanageable, we may have to leave the campus at our own risk.

A student from the electrical engineering and electronics department commented that being situated in Gopalganj, hometown of Sheikh Hasina, the university has a more peaceful environment compared to other cities like Rajshahi, Dhaka, and Rangpur. Although there were some protests on campus, they were handled in a controlled manner. Unfortunately, due to Eid holidays, teacher and student strikes, our studies have been affected badly since many days.