70 state transport buses left Dhule in Maharashtra on Wednesday morning to bring back students stranded at Kota in Rajasthan due to the lockdown enforced amidst the CoVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, a batch of 26 students and seven parents from Raigad district already set food in Kharghar the same morning, all thanks to Nidhi Chaudhary, the collector of Raigad district, who acted promptly after getting a nod from the state government and brought them back with the help of the collector of Kota district.
Students and their parents heaved a sigh of relief after they reached Kharghar early morning on April 29. All the students underwent a mandatory health checkup at Gram Vikas Bhawan in Kharghar soon after they arrived. Fortunately, all of them were asymptomatic. However, they were put on mandatory 14 days home quarantine.
Kota in Rajasthan is a hub of coaching institutes for the preparation of engineering and medical entrance exams and students from across the country go there.
Chaudhary, herself, monitored their journey and ensured that no inconvenience was caused to them, as they were already stressed due to the cancellation of examinations and stranded away from home since the lockdown was enforced.
Chaudhary said that they had started receiving calls from parents soon after the Uttar Pradesh government brought back their students from Kota. “We already had data of the students from Raigad district stranded in Kota,” said Chaudhary. She added that soon after the Maharashtra government’s decision came to bring back students, they initiated the process.
Students' data were matched with the data provided by the state government. The Raigad administration talked to all the students and found that 26 students and seven parents are ready to come back. A student wanted to stay in Kota to continue exam preparation. However, his guardian staying with him wanted to come back, and so he was brought back.
Chaudhary talked to the collector of Kota, who arranged a luxury bus for the students. Meals were also served during the journey in Ujjain. She said that she monitored the whole journey throughout the night and talked to the bus driver for safe driving. She also visited Gram Vikas Bhawan and interacted with the students when they reached Kharghar. Students were counselled and advisedto stay at home and continue their preparation. Parents appreciated the effort of the district collector who had come along with the students from Kota.
