Students stuck in Kota reach Mumbai on Friday

City students stuck in Kota finally reached Mumbai Central around 10.30pm on Friday. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), on Wednesday, had

City students stuck in Kota finally reached Mumbai Central around 10.30pm on Friday. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), on Wednesday, had sent 70 MSRTC buses from Dhule in Maharashtra to Kota to get students back.

HT Image

The parents of students were permitted to pick students up from Mumbai Central. These students will now be put in home quarantine for the next two weeks.

According to state transport minister Anil Parab, 1,780 students from Maharashtra were stranded in colleges and coaching institutes in Kota, Rajasthan, during the lockdown. Students in Kota boarded buses that left Kota on Thursday night and Friday afternoon. Some districts, like Raigad and Beed, also sent privately-run buses.

“Some buses arranged by the Maharashtra government left from Kota on Thursday night and reached Shirpur [in Dhule district] on Friday morning. From there, students were divided into separate buses based on their destination city,” said activist Sudha Shenoy who is also a parent of a medical student.

As many as 1.5 lakh students join coaching institutes in Kota every year. “Most state governments started bringing back students stuck in Kota in April itself. We are glad the Maharashtra government woke up to this now our kids are back home safe and sound,” said Roshan Jaiswal, another parent.

With the ongoing lockdown, there is little clarity regarding the status of engineering and medical entrance exams this year. As of now, bodies conducting these exams have said that the exams will be held this year. However, no dates have been announced.

.