JAIPUR: There was finally some relief for thousands of students from Uttar Pradesh stranded in Rajasthan's Kota, popularly known as India's coaching capital, as Yogi Adityanath government in UP has decided to bring back about 6,000 of them from there.
Most of the students from outside Rajasthan have been keen to return home ever since PM Modi announced the extension of the lockdown on April 14. They were staying in Kota for coaching on NEET, IIT and JEE exams.
About 200 buses sent by the Yogi Adityanath government reached Kota on Friday evening to evacuate the stranded students. Medical checkup of all the students was done as a precaution, as one of the students was reported to be a coronavirus suspect.
Adityanath was keen to get the students back to Uttar Pradesh. Divisional Commissioner L N Soni provided details of the arrangements for the students' return and said: "They have been grouped according to their districts and will be seated in the same manner. The buses will be sanitized first and only 30 students are being sent in each of the buses keeping social distancing in mind. The arrangement for food during their journey is also being done."
Meanwhile, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot tweeted: "As the UP govt called back students living in #Kota #Rajasthan, it can also be done for students from other states. Students in Kota can be sent to their home states on the consent of the concerned state govt so that these young boys & girls do not panic or feel depressed", he wrote.
Currently 30,000 students from various states are stranded in Kota. These include about 6500 from Bihar, 4000 from Madhya Pradesh, 3000 from Jharkhand, 2000 from Haryana, 2000 from Maharashtra, 1000 from Northeast and around 1000 students from West Bengal.