Over 6,000 students of Kota coaching institutes make homeward journey to UP in buses

Over 6,000 students from Uttar Pradesh who are preparing for various competitive examinations in the coaching hub of Kota in Rajasthan have left for their homes in buses sent by the Yogi Adityanath government, officials said on Saturday.

According to conservative estimates, around 8,000 students from various parts of Uttar Pradesh are taking coaching classes in Kota.

Kota Divisional Commissioner Laxmi Narayan Soni told PTI that 6,000 plus students from Uttar Pradesh have already left Kota.

A senior Uttar Pradesh government official late on Saturday night said, "So far, over 2,700 students have arrived in Jhansi from Kota in 108 buses."

The Uttar Pradesh government had on Friday sent 250 buses to Kota, estimating the total number of students to be around 7,500, but more students gathered at the three boarding points in the city after learning about the travel arrangement.

Some of the students were accompanied by their parents.

Officials now fear the buses may be inadequate to accommodate all the students willing to return home. But Kota Public Relations Deputy Director Hariom Gurjar said that the Uttar Pradesh government has assured them that more vehicles would be arranged if there is a shortfall.

The Kota administration had prepared a list of students based on information received from coaching institutes and did not account for those studying in the city without enrolling in any institute, officials said.

Additional Superintendent of Police Rajesh Mill, overseeing the exercise, said 100 buses with around 3,000 students left for Uttar Pradesh early in the morning.

The process to send the remaining students whose names are in the list is underway, he added.

Asked about the students who are not listed, he expressed the inability of the Kota administration in arranging more buses, saying, "It would not be possible at our level. The resources have to come from there (UP) and we can only cooperate and maintain social distancing while sending the students back home."

The students had started a social media campaign #SendUsBackHome on Tuesday, following which the Yogi government decided to bring them back.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot praised the move, saying other state governments should follow suit.

Officials said the buses have been sanitised and the students departing for their hometowns are being thermal screened before boarding them. Food packets, water bottles, masks are also being provided to the students.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to bring back home students stranded in the coaching hub.

However, Bihar minister Sanjay Kumar Jha is not impressed. He said the Uttar Pradesh government sending buses and Gehlot calling upon other states to follow suit are a "mockery" of the nationwide lockdown.

Manish Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district and a medical aspirant, has been told that he may board a bus on Sunday.

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, he says his family members are much worried and calls him at least 10 times to enquire his well being.

Asked how he is arranging for his food, Manish said, "Currently we are dependent on local tiffin services. Initially, some children started cooking their own food, as they felt tense after the outbreak of COVID-19."

Tushar Shrestha, a friend of Manish, feels lucky to have returned to his home in Allahabad in February.

"I returned to Allahabad in February itself, as my course got completed, and I managed to appear in some medical tests from Allahabad. I am in touch with some of my friends who are still in Kota," he said.