Covid-19: Parents from NCR drive through states to fetch kids in Maha hostel

A couple in their fifties from Gurugram embarked on a 1200-km journey across four states on Friday, amid the nationwide lockdown, to bring their son home from his

A couple in their fifties from Gurugram embarked on a 1200-km journey across four states on Friday, amid the nationwide lockdown, to bring their son home from his college hostel in Aurangabad.

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Their 25-year-old son is one of the 450-odd students of the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), Aurangabad, who are stranded in the hostel since March, after a teacher, who had returned from abroad, tested positive for Covid-19 on campus. After the case was detected, all students were quarantined in the hostel until March 26. However, after a nationwide lockdown was announced on March 23 and later extended till May 3, the students were unable to return home.

IHM, Aurangabad, principal and director Satish Jayaram refused to comment on the issue.

Although the institute has not asked students to vacate the premises, several parents are making road trips across states to bring their children home.

“The institute is taking good care of the children but we are worried that necessary social distancing norms are not being followed. Moreover, there is uncertainty over when the lockdown will be lifted so we decided to drive to Aurangabad to pick up our son,” the parents, who are working professionals, told HT.

They had booked flight tickets on two airlines for April 15 for their son, but the flights were cancelled after the lockdown was extended. They then procured a curfew pass from Gurugram to Aurangabad and back. The parents took turns and drove non-stop for around 19 hours to reach Aurangabad in Maharashtra, crossing Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. They reached the hostel on Saturday and soon after, started their journey back home.

Another man, also a working professional from the national capital region (NCR), will start his journey on Sunday to bring back his son. “We tried to bring our child back by booking a chartered flight but permissions were difficult to come by.... Hence, we were forced to make these long journeys.”

Aurangabad district collector Uday Chaudhuri said, “Some parents got in touch with us. They are panicking but there is no reason to as students have completed their quarantine and are safe. However, if parents have proper curfew permissions from a competent authority, they can pick up their children.”