Special trains: Around 9,000 stranded students set to return to Bihar from Kota

Unlike Bihar, other states and union territories such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli had sent buses to take back their students from Kota.

Kota: Around 9,000 students from Bihar studying at coaching centres at Kota in Rajasthan are set to return home on special train that will be run during May 3-6.

Railway staff including RPF applause as 'Shramik Special Train' carrying migrant departed from Jaipur to Patna, at Kota Railway Station in Jaipur on Friday. (ANI)

Unlike Bihar, other states and union territories such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli had sent buses to take back their students from Kota.

Despite mounting pressure from opposition parties and families of students, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar hadn’t taken any steps so far to bring back students from his state. The students from Bihar had even observed a fast and protested on the streets to pressure the state government.

Kota’s district collector Om Kasera said on Saturday: “The decks have been cleared for the return of around 9,000 students of Bihar from Kota and they will be sent through special trains between May 3 and May 6.”

A total of 1,000 students from Jharkhand left Kota in a special train on Friday night and more students from the state will be sent back on another special train on Saturday night, he said.

Reacting to the development, Rishu Raj, a 21-year-old from Bihar’s Navada district who plans to appear for the NEET, said: “I am feeling very relieved after the decision to send students of Bihar through trains”

“Had the decision been taken earlier, it would have benefited both students and government,” he said.

Another teenage student from Bihar’s Betiya district, who didn’t want to be named, said, “I am feeling very delighted after hearing the news that we can pack our bags to go home. Sending the students from Bihar by train is better than sending them back on buses as it will take less time.”

Hostel owner Yogendra Gupta, whose facility has many students from Bihar, expressed his pleasure at the decision.

More than 28,000 students from 12 states and four union territories have left Kota in the past fortnight.