Sign in

Congress demands to bring back stranded Himachalis

Hundreds of Himachal residents were stuck in Delhi, Chandigarh and other cities due to the lockdown imposed in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

Updated on: Apr 25, 2020, 18:44:21 IST
Hindustan Times, Dharamshala | By , DHARAMSHALA
Share
Share via
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
Copy link
  • copy link

Congress has demanded that the state government should bring back all its residents stuck in cities like Delhi and Chandigarh.

HT Image
HT Image

In a statement issued here, All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and former urban development minister Sudhir Sharma said that hundreds of Himachal residents were stuck in Delhi, Chandigarh and other cities due to the lockdown imposed in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

Most of these are either students, Sharma said adding that these people come from humble backgrounds and were facing difficulties due to lack of resources.

“It was quite strange that instead of evacuating these people, the state government gave priority to students stranded in Kota of Rajasthan,” said Sharma.

“Congress is not against bringing back students from Kota but the government should also have taken initiative to evacuate other stranded residents,” he added.

The former minister said that the government was lacking in communicating with the public. He also slammed education minister Suresh Bhardwaj for being indecisive.

He said that amid lockdown, private schools are charging fees from students which shows that state government has no control over private schools. He said that education minister earlier had stated that private schools will not charge any fee but later he stated that private schools will take a decision at their own level on this issue as the government cannot force them.

He said that the minister’s changing statements have caused problems for the parents. The Congress leader said that while some schools have voluntarily waived off fees for at least three months, others have been demanding a fee in the name of online education.