391 stranded Assamese students return from Kota amid lockdown

After a three-day long bus journey from Kota, 391 students reached Assam amid the lockdown. They would be quarantined for 14 days as a precautionary measure.

Guwahati: Over 391 students who were stranded in Kota, Rajasthan reached Assam on Sunday after a three-day bus journey amid the coronavirus lockdown.

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that they would be quarantined for 14 days as a precautionary measure. "After a long journey from Kota, 391 children are back with smiles and cheers. To ensure they and their families remain safe, we are putting them into 14-day quarantine," said the minister.

There was a sense of happiness among the students on coming back home. "It feels great coming back home, as one normally feels when they come home. The journey back was a good one," said one of the students.

Another student added: "There were no problems faced while coming back home. We were well-taken care of. It feels amazing to come back home and I am extremely grateful to the government and would like to thank them for their effort."

A student said that they were "badly stuck" in Kota and living there had become difficult as they were seldom allowed to go out to buy essentials.

"We were badly stuck where we were staying. It became difficult to survive over there. When we tweeted to the Assam government, they were prompt in their response. We are thankful to what the health minister has done for us," he said.

According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Assam has a tally of 36 positive COVID-19 cases of which, 19 have recovered and one patient has succumbed to the deadly virus, as of Sunday.

(ANI REPORT)