Coronavirus Lockdown: 2300 Siliguri students stranded in Kota return home

Hundreds of students studying in Rajasthan's Kota returned to Siliguri on Friday via buses. A total of 2300 students arrived in Asansol, Kolkata and Siliguri in West Bengal via 84 buses.

The students were stranded in Kota amid the lockdown and the guardians had appealed to the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to take steps to bring back those students.

Speaking to ANI, Pallavi Roy, an engineering student said, "I am very happy to be back in my hometown. In Kota, COVID-19 cases are surging so several States were taking initiatives to bring back the stranded people."

"We were thinking that why our government is not taking any initiative. So we were requesting our State government to take some steps. I am grateful to Rajasthan and West Bengal Governments," she added.

Eagerly waiting for her daughter to arrive here, Ravi Kant Tiwari said that his family was worried about their daughter who was stranded in Kota amid COVID-19 crisis.

Speaking to ANI, Goutam Deb, State Tourism Minister said, "Mamata Banerjee has taken all initiatives to bring back the stranded students from Kota. She contacted the Rajasthan Chief Minister. Total 2300 students via 84 buses have come back to West Bengal from Kota."

The move comes after, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday granted the permission for movement of the stranded people, including migrants labourers, workers, students, tourists, and provided the procedure for the same.

Meanwhile, the lockdown, which was scheduled to end on May 3, has been extended by another two weeks.

(ANI)

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