Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 11 (ANI): As many as 130 students from Uttar Pradesh, who were stranded in violence-hit Manipur, have been brought home safely so far, said the State government statement on Thursday.
As per the direction of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the evacuation of students of Uttar Pradesh, stranded in Manipur amid ongoing violence in the state, is going on a war footing.
On Thursday, 32 students were brought to Uttar Pradesh and 12 more students are going to be brought back on Friday. Earlier, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Yogi government managed to bring back 98 students by running a special campaign.
All these students were being brought to Delhi by different routes. On Thursday, all 32 students directly reached Lucknow airport. According to the statement, these students were studying in different educational institutions in Manipur and were evacuated from the state due to the ongoing violence.
Prabhu Narain Singh, Relief Commissioner, said, "Most of the students have already been evacuated from Manipur. After bringing back 12 more students on Friday, there will be only 16 children left, out of which 5 have refused to come back, while 11 students are coming back on their own."
The Relief Commissioner further said, "Our priority is to safely bring back the students of UP who are studying in Manipur, at the earliest. Earlier, we got information about 136 students being in Manipur, on which a campaign was launched to bring them back. After this, 22 more students were found. Now teams are in action to bring them back too."
The state government is sending the students safely to their homes in luxury buses and cars. The official added that all the students coming from Manipur are being properly taken care of.
Students landing in Delhi were first taken from the airport to the RC office and then to UP Bhawan, where there are arrangements for their food, drink and sleep.
Furthermore, arrangements have also been made to send the students back to their homes. Simultaneously, students who landed at Lucknow airport were sent to their homes by luxury buses, while cars were arranged for students who were from nearby areas.
A curfew was imposed on May 3 after violence broke out in the State. The State government also clamped down on the use of the Internet and mobile phones to ensure the spread of panic and false information could be curtailed.
Amid the demand of the Meitei people for ST status, a rally was organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) Manipur on May 3, which later turned violent.
As per the official figures, close to 60 people lost their lives while more than 230 were injured and close to 1700 houses were burnt down during the violence in Manipur. (ANI)