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Coronavirus update: Students stranded in Kota won’t be evacuated, says Chhattisgarh government
The Chhattisgarh chief minister appealed to the parents of the students not to panic and said the government is committed for their safety and security.
Hours after a minister in Chhattisgarh claimed the government is planning to evacuate students from the state stranded in Rajasthan’s Kota, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel spoke to his counterpart Ashok Gehlot on Saturday and decided against bringing them back during the Covid-19 lockdown.
This came after Uttar Pradesh sent hundreds of buses to evacuate approximately 7500 medical and engineering aspirants from Kota, often described as India’s coaching capital for competitive examinations.
The Chhattisgarh chief minister appealed to the parents of the students not to panic and said the government is committed for their safety and security.
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“The Chhattisgarh government has decided not to violate the guidelines of lockdown like Uttar Pradesh did on Friday and hence we will not evacuate the students. We are making a list of students stranded at Kota and other places and then the government will make all necessary arrangements for them,” Vinod Verma, an adviser to Baghel, said while speaking to HT.
Verma said the news of the evacuation of Uttar Pradesh students created pressure on the Chhattisgarh and other state governments but they don’t want to violate any rule during coronavirus pandemic.
Also read: Yogi Adityanath’s Kota evacuation plan puts Nitish Kumar in oppn firing line
On Saturday morning, revenue and disaster management minister Jai Singh Agarwal said while speaking to HT that in the meeting with chief minister Baghel, officers were instructed to make a list of students stranded in Kota and that serious attempts to evacuate them from Kota will be made.
Agarwal made a similar announcement on Twitter in which he claimed that “proper arrangements to bring back the Chhattisgarh students from Kota will be made.”
The Chhattisgarh government also issued a statement on Saturday evening and claimed that the proper arrangements will be made for the students will be made by both Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh government.
Also read: Sheer number of students swamp UP’s Kota evacuation plan, buses fall short
“Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot has assured CM Baghel that there is no need to worry about children living in Kota and all the necessary arrangements are being made by the Rajasthan government for all the students living in Kota,” the statement said.
It said a nodal officer has also been appointed by the Rajasthan government as well as helpline number, 07442325342, has been started for the stranded students.
“Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that if a child has any problem in Kota, then his parents should inform their respective district collector with complete information so that their problems in Kota can be resolved,” it added.
Kota draws thousands of students from all over the country, who enrol in institutes to prepare for IIT-JEE and National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for undergraduate engineering and medical courses, respectively.
The students have been stranded in Kota since the ongoing nationwide lockdown was initially enforced for 21 days from March 25 and then extended for another 19 days till May 3 to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease outbreak.
District authorities in Kota have said around 30,000 students are still in Kota and another 10,000 aspirants have returned to their respective states.
