india

Updated: Apr 24, 2020 21:01 IST

Assam took a cue from other states such as Uttar Pradesh (UP), Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Uttarakhand on Friday, facilitating the return of 391 stranded students from Rajasthan’s Kota, the country’s coaching capital, amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown restrictions.

The students started their 2,000-kilometre homeward journey from Kota in 17 buses and will reach Assam on Sunday after passing through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

“Earlier, we’re not planning to bring them back, but we decided against it after UP, MP and Uttarakhand governments brought back their students. Besides, our students are young and are distressed because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Assam’s health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Kota, a hub for coaching centres catering to engineering and medical aspirants, is a popular destination for thousands of students from across India.

The Assam government air-dropped eight police officers to Kota on Thursday who are accompanying the students back home. Each student has to pay Rs 7,000 for the trip back home.

“UP government has arranged for a night’s stay for the students at Kosi Kalan town. The students reached Jhansi by Friday afternoon and will reach Assam on Sunday morning. They will be quarantined for two weeks after they reach Assam,” said Sarma.

The students, who were in quarantine in Kota, will be kept either at Sreerampur on the West Bengal-Assam border or in the state capital, Guwahati.

They will have to undergo a test after five days following which doctors will decide whether their quarantine be extended beyond two weeks.

Sarma said that the state government might facilitate a similar return journey for students from Assam, who are stranded in other states.

Body brought back from Gujarat

On Thursday night, the body of a youth from Assam’s Baksa district, who had died in Ahmedabad on April 19 was brought back by road.

The youth, Rahul Barman, who used to work in a private company in Ahmedabad, was found dead in his rented accommodation on April 19.

“We thank Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani for providing an ambulance to bring back the body. Our sincere gratitude to the two drivers, Nilesh Chavda and Hiren Dave, who drove for 40 hours to bring the body back,” said Sarma.

Inter-district movement of people to begin on Saturday

People stranded in one part of Assam due to the ongoing lockdown restrictions, who are interested to return to their homes or their workplaces, will be allowed to do so for three days beginning Saturday based on prior permission from the authorities concerned.

The state government will also provide state transport buses to allow over 41,000 people who called on a helpline number to travel to one destination of their choice during these three days, starting Saturday.

Home delivery of medicines

The state government has also decided to start home delivery of medicines for those who are unable to get their prescribed drugs close to their place of residence. Those willing to avail of the service will have to call 104. “If the medicines are available in the same district, it will be delivered within 24 hours. If it have to be procured from another part of the state, delivery will be done within 48 hours, and for medicines, which need to be brought from outside the state, it will be done within a week,” Sarma said. If the medicines cost less than Rs 200, the state government will provide free of cost. For medicines, which cost more, the patients have to bear the cost.

Assam Police has done over 4,800 home deliveries of medicines to date.

The state has reported 36 Covid-19 positive cases so far, including one death and 19 have recovered.

The state government has provided $1,000 each to 49 people from the state stranded abroad, Rs 25,000 each to 829 patients from the state who went for treatment to other states, and Rs 2,000 each to 200,000 people from the state, who work in other parts of the country.