LUCKNOW: With UP CM Yogi Adityanath issuing directives to the state home ministry to make arrangements for the safe return of students belonging to Uttar Pradesh from Manipur, a group of around 10 students have left the trouble-torn north-eastern state on their own taking the flight from Imphal to Kolkata on Monday.
The batch of 10 pursuing engineering courses in National Institute of Technology (NIT), Manipur, have taken the train route back to their native places in UP. However, the state government had claimed that they would be bringing the first batch of 28 students back to the state. Nearly 150 UP students, pursuing different courses, are stranded in the strife-torn state.
Jitendra Kumar, a budding civil engineer, pursuing BTech at NIT, Manipur and native of the eastern UP district of Ballia reached Imphal airport along with the others in a college bus.
“The situation is grim in Manipur. Shortage of food and safety are major concerns,” he said sharing his experiences with the media. Similarly, Abhishek Kumar, a resident of Greater Noida, said, “We have had sleepless nights. Parents are concerned for our safety. We are not going to come here for the next one month.”
UP's principal secretary (home) Sanjay Prasad spoke to the chief secretary of Manipur and requested for help. The office of the relief commissioner was entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating with the Manipur government and ensuring a safe passage for students wanting to return to the state, a statement by the chief ministers' office said.
Meanwhile, other students belonging to UP and stranded in Manipur said that if they did not get any official assistance, they would move out by catching flights etc.
According to Aveg Sharma of Kanpur, it was difficult to stay put in Manipur any longer. “The authorities have advised us to keep the lights switched off to avoid detection by troublemakers,” said Aaveg Sharma, 18, a B Tech NIT first year student from Kanpur.
As pe the students returning to the state, the trouble began on Wednesday evening when Meities and Kukis clashed. NIT is near Langol in Manipur, which is also a centre of conflict.
Meanwhile, the UP government that has set up a helpline number 1070 to assist the students and enable them to contact the state administration has received 128 queries.