CM Yogi sends buses to bring back UP students stranded in Rajasthan's Kota amid lockdown

The Uttar Pradesh government under Yogi Adityanath on Friday sent 250 buses to Kota in Rajasthan to bring back around 7500 students, stuck in the coaching city amid Coronavirus lockdown. Additionally, the Kota district administration has also arranged nearly 100 buses to be used to send the students from UP in case the number of buses from UP falls short.

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Around 7500 students hailing from Uttar Pradesh are staying in hostels and paying guest accommodations in Kota city, known for its coaching centres especially for engineering and medical aspirants. Since the lockdown was imposed across the country last month to control the spread of COVID-19 infections, the students have been anxious to get back to their homes in different states. A social media campaign called#SendUsBackHome was started on Tuesday by the students stuck amid the pandemic.

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While Bihar has been protesting against sending back students, suggesting that they should stay put wherever they are amid the lockdown, to reduce the risk of spread of the virus, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has praised this move and said that other state governments should also ensure that students stranded in the coaching city during the lockdown are able to reach their homes safely. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has said that sending buses is a violation of the lockdown. 

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Kota administration makes arrangements 

Kota district collector Om Kasera, following the state-level decision, deputed ADM (Admin) Narendra Gupta to coordinate the arrangements with ASP Rajesh Mill. The buses from UP started reaching the coaching hub on Friday evening and are likely to start taking the students to their hometowns in UP after thermal screening by Friday night, the officials said. They added that only 30 students will be allowed to board one bus in order to ensure social distancing and prevent spread of infection.

"We have enlisted the students district-wise to board the buses to travel to their hometowns in UP. They would be provided with face masks, sanitisers and food packets," Nitesh Sharma of Allen Career Institute said, adding that the instructions issued by the district administration are being followed to facilitate the students' return.

According to district officials, three locations -- the landmark Allen ground, Sakar building near hotel Country Inn and the private bus stand near Jawahar Nagar petrol pump -- have been marked for parking of the buses reaching Kota from UP. The buses, after boarding the students, would depart for their home destinations from six other locations -- Sangyan building, Cooperative building, Sathyarth building in Jawahar Nagar, Vibrant, Motion and Resonance buildings in Vigyan Nagar in the city, they said.

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