2,000 students stranded in Rajasthan amid coronavirus lockdown plead to Maharashtra government for help

Around 2,000 students from Maharashtra who are stranded in Kota, Rajasthan, have pleaded with the state government to help them return home. The Uttar Pradesh (UP)

Around 2,000 students from Maharashtra who are stranded in Kota, Rajasthan, have pleaded with the state government to help them return home. The Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Madhya Pradesh (MP) government have already made provisions to bring back students stuck in the coaching capital of India.

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On behalf of the students, 18-year-old Aditi Thorat from Solapur has written to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray as well as other ministers and legislators. Students have also been sending messages on social media to the state authorities to take a cue from the UP and MP governments.

“The number of cases in Kota has been on the rise. We are staying in hostels and paying guest accommodations where we interact with mess and other staff. We are scared of contracting the disease,” said Thorat, who is in Kota to prepare for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). Every year, thousands of students from different parts of the country go to Kota to prepare for various competitive exams. With the nation under lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, students have not been able to return home.

Last week, the UP government sent around 300 buses to retrieve students stuck in Kota, and soon after, the MP government followed suit. The Maharashtra government has made no such announcements yet.

“The situation is becoming grimmer every day. I stay at a paying guest accommodation and since all mess facilities are shut, my roommates and I are not able to get proper food. We have been surviving on biscuits and packaged food. We hope the Maharashtra government comes to our rescue,” said 18-year-old Om Ghadling from Buldhana.