Buses sent to Kota to bring back around 1500 students to Chhattisgarh: Bhupesh Baghel

The Chhattisgarh government on Friday sent 75 buses to Kota in Rajasthan to bring back 1,500 students stuck there due to COVID-19 lockdown. An official said that the buses, along with doctors in an ambulance as well as senior police officials have been sent on the instructions of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

Raipur:Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhaghel on Friday said that 75 buses have been sent from the state to bring back around 1,500 students from Kota in Rajasthan following the central government's consent.

"After the consent of the central government, buses have been sent to bring the children of Chhattisgarh from Kota, Rajasthan. Along with this, information about labourers who are stranded in various states is also being sought. They will also be brought to the state," Baghel said.

"About 1,500 children are stranded in Kota. The number of labourers in other states is more than one lakh," he added.

"Each bus will carry 25 students. Strict compliance of norms is in place to combat the virus outbreak will be ensured during the journey. The students will be quarantined after they reach here and will be allowed to go home after being medically examined," an official said.

Baghel had spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday seeking permission to bring these students back, he added.

The CM is also making efforts to get migrant laborers back from other states, official claimed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on March 24 announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown was later extended till May 3.

As many as 70 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Rajasthan on Friday, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 2,034, the state health department said.

Out of the total cases, 776 are from Jaipur, 316 from Jodhpur, 144 from Kota, 11 from Tonk, 107 from Bharatpur and 106 from Ajmer among others.

With inputs from ANI and PTI