The BSF on Saturday set up helpdesks at check-posts at four land ports in Bengal for Indian students fleeing the strife-torn Bangladesh.

The land ports are at Petrapole and Ghojadanga in North 24-Parganas, Gede in Nadia and Mahadipur in Malda.

“There is a complete shutdown in Bangladesh and the Internet service has been suspended. In such a situation, many students of India and some neighbouring countries have been desperately trying to return through our check-posts. They also reach the check-posts during the night by walking long distances. So, we have set up a help desk where our personnel are working round the clock,” an officer of the BSF's south Bengal frontier said.

The BSF also started medical camps for the students, who mostly took laborious journeys by foot in the absence of any vehicle in the neighbouring country because of the curfew clamped by the Bangladesh government.

“The safety and well-being of the students is of utmost priority. So, medical camps have been set up to address any health concerns of the returning students. We are also helping students rectify required documents so that they don’t face any problems during transit,” another BSF officer said.

BSF officers said they were in constant touch with their counterparts in the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) so that the evacuation of students, including those from Bhutan and Nepal, could be carried out even at night.

DIG A.K. Arya, the spokesperson for the BSF's south Bengal frontier, said: “We are in constant touch with the BGB to manage the evacuation of the students effectively. This coordination has ensured the safe evacuation of students even at night."

At the same time, to speed up the evacuation, the Centre has directed immigration desks, which will be kept open round the clock, to ensure uninterrupted services for the sake of the returning students.

On Sunday, 56 students returned through the Petrapole integrated check-post with the support of the BSF. The number of students who entered India through Gede is 111 and through Mahadipur is 181.

In north Bengal, 322 students from medical colleges at Bogura in Bangladesh returned to India through the Hilli check-post on Sunday.

In another case, 550 students, of whom 210 were from Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives, entered India through the Changrabandha check-post in Cooch Behar

Srija Maiti, an MBBS student, said: “Police helped us reach the border in Hili. They provided us with all support.”

Many Bangladeshi nationals who reached the border on Sunday had no idea how to return home.

“I don’t know how to reach my home in Chapai-Nawabganj district today. I have heard that no public transport is available there because of the shutdown," Mohammad Basiruddin said in Mahadipur. He came to India to see his wife admitted to a hospital in Calcutta.

Exports to Bangladesh continued to remain suspended for the second consecutive day.

Additional reporting by our Siliguri bureau