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Maharashtra sends 70 buses to bring back students stuck in Kota amid lockdown

Kota is a hub of coaching institutes for India’s premier entrance exams for medical and engineering colleges. Around 30 lakh people reside in the city out of which a major chunk is of students who come to prepare for entrance exams.

Maharashtra sends 70 buses to bring back students stuck in Kota amid lockdown

Representational Image (Photo: Getty Images)

As thousands of students from across the country preparing for competitive exams have been stranded in Rajasthan’s Kota city due to the COVID-19 lockdown, at least 70 state transport buses left from Maharashtra on Wednesday morning to bring back students safely.

Kota is a hub of coaching institutes for India’s premier entrance exams for medical and engineering colleges. Around 30 lakh people reside in the city out of which a major chunk is of students who come to prepare for entrance exams. A number of students from Maharashtra have been staying here to take coaching classes for the preparation of various competitive entrance examinations after Class 12.

The vehicles left from Maharashtra’s Dhule district around 10.30 am and will reach Rajasthan by Wednesday night, he said.

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“The buses will leave from Kota on Thursday morning,” the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) official said, adding that only 20 students will be allowed in each bus and the vehicles will halt at two to three places for food breaks.

The MSRTC official said due to the long distance journey of 11 to 12 hours, each bus has been provided two drivers, and a van will go along with the fleet to help in case of a break down and ensure smooth journey.

The 21-day nationwide lockdown which was imposed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24, coming in effect from March 25, was extended further till May 3, leaving many people stranded including the migrant labourers and students who are living at far away places from their homes.

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government had sent about 400 buses from Agra and Jhansi to Kota to bring back thousands of students.

“The buses are being sent to bring back kids who are stuck in Kota. We are sending food, water bottles, masks and sanitisers. Each bus will be able to bring back 25 kids. Some buses will also be sent from Jhansi,” a senior government official in Agra had said.

The West Bengal government has also initiated steps to ensure the return of Bengal students  from there and they will begin their return journey soon, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Monday.

Banerjee said she has already instructed her officials to help all those from the state stranded in various parts of the country so that they can come back home.

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