Maharashtra asks Rajasthan government for safe passage of students stuck in Kota

After Uttar Pradesh government brought its students back from Kota followed by Assam government sending buses to retrieve the students from the city in Rajasthan, Maharashtra government has now requested the Rajasthan government to allow safe passage to bring back about 1,800-2,000 students from the state.

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"More than 1,800 to 2,000 students/people from Maharashtra are stranded in Kota, Rajasthan. The Government of Maharashtra has requested to the Government of Rajasthan for their safe passage to the state," an official communication read. 

"These students/people will be returning from Kota, Rajasthan to Maharashtra by bus/road via Madhya Pradesh/Gujarat states. The state government of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and their district authorities are requested to cooperate with the return journey of the students/people. As per instructions, they would be screened and home-quarantined for 14 days," it added. 

The situation in Maharashtra remains grim as Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, continues to witness an alarming surge of the number of cases with maximum areas termed as containment zones. Besides Pune and Thane district sees no respite either. Maharashtra has 6,817 cases of COVID-19, including 957 cured/discharged/migrated and 301 deaths. On the other hand, Rajasthan has 2,034 cases of COVID-19, including 230 cured/discharged/migrated and 27 deaths, as per the Union Health Ministry.

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COVID-19 status in India

The nation has been witnessing a surge in the number of cases since the deadly disease made an entry into the country, though the doubling rate had improved according to the Union Health Ministry. Also in what seems to be good news for the country, India's recovery rate has reached 20.57 per cent. Niti Aayog's member Dr VK Paul stated in the Health Ministry briefing that the lockdown decision was timely as the around 23,000 cases in India today could have been 73,000. The nation has reported 24,942 cases as on April 25, of which 5,210 have been cured and discharged whereas 779 have succumbed to the virus. There are 80 districts from where no new positive case has been reported for 14 days.

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