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KP Sharma
Amid escalating protests and violence in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, the Bangladesh government has stepped up efforts to ensure the safe return of Bhutanese students studying in Bangladeshi universities.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced yesterday that Drukair will operate a special flight today to bring students back from Dhaka. Around 67 students returned today on a Drukair flight.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade DN Dhungyel said necessary arrangements have been made to safely transport the students to Dhaka airport and evacuate them.
In fact, some Bhutanese students have already returned to the country overland via India.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade confirmed that 25 students from Rangpur Community Media College and Rangpur Dental College crossed the Bangladesh-India border yesterday morning.
In addition, out of the 18 Bhutanese students at Mymensingh Medical College, 17 have returned home and only one student remains in the dormitory.
Similarly, four out of five students of Rajshahi Medical College returned on July 20 along with Indian students.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the tense situation led to a curfew, causing many students to cancel their flights, complicating travel plans.
According to the Bhutan Ministry of Education, there are currently 257 Bhutanese students studying in universities across Bangladesh. The Embassy of Bhutan in Dhaka has confirmed that all students still in Bangladesh are safe and the Embassy is providing necessary support, including accommodation for those students who feel unsafe in their dormitories.
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay took to social media to assure the public that the government was closely monitoring the situation. “The Royal Government of Bhutan is making every effort to ensure the safety and well-being of our students in Bangladesh.”
The Bhutanese Embassy in Dhaka is working with other relevant agencies to facilitate the students’ return home.
The embassy advised students outside Dhaka to stay in their dormitories and maintain contact, and urged them not to travel to Dhaka due to the risks involved.
The unrest in Bangladesh was sparked by massive student protests demanding the abolition of a controversial quota system for government jobs that reserves up to 30 percent of posts for relatives of veterans of the 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.
The protesting students objected to the quota, which mainly benefits supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party, which led the independence movement, and called for an end to the apparent discrimination amid high unemployment, according to media reports.
In response to the escalating protests, the Bangladeshi government has imposed a curfew and deployed the army to control the situation. According to media reports, the measures, which took effect on Thursday, include the suspension of mobile data and text messaging services.
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