Delhi govt begins evacuation of 800 students stranded in Kota

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Saturday began operations to evacuate students from Kota in Rajasthan due to the lockdown, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. Meanwhile the Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said that the state government has sent a fleet of 40 buses to bring back the students.

"Hundreds of our children studying in Kota were stuck for more than a month. We are arranging for their return to Delhi. Am so happy they will soon be reunited with their families," Kejriwal tweeted.

"40 buses of Delhi Transport Corporation reached Kota, Rajasthan at around 10 AM today to bring back around 800 students to Delhi. Not more than 20 students will be allowed on a bus. They will be screened at the time of departure and arrival," said Gahlot.

On Wednesday, the Union home ministry in an order had given permission for the evacuation of stranded people. The order said those stranded could be evacuated by buses.

Kota, a coaching hub for competitive examinations is just over 500 km south of Delhi and draws students from many parts of the country.

UP became the first state to evacuate its students from Kota last month when it sent hundreds of buses to bring back more than 10,000 students. The union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh also carried out a similar operation a few days later to bring back 400 of their students from Kota.