Amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, a dozen Kashmiristudents are stuck in Agra and have sought the help of Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath so that they can return to their homes safely.
The students, including four women, are aged between 19 and25 years. They are students of the Agra University and staying in rentedaccommodations in Naseerabad colony of Khandari area in the city.
The students, enrolled in different programmes, had stayedback due to their examinations in March and thought they would return to theirhomes in Kashmir once the lockdown was over, one of them said.
“We had no clue that the lockdown would last so longand the situation would worsen here in Agra also in terms of the coronavirusoutbreak. We have run out of money and food supplies, the banks are notworking, going out is a risk because the city is a COVID-19 hotspot and backhome our families are also worried for us, Manzoor Wani, 24, told PTI.
Wani, pursuing MSc in Forestry, said the Agra administrationhas been helpful in providing them food packets but also claimed that three ofthe students had fallen ill with diarrhoea after consuming”poori-sabzi” around a week ago.
“After that we requested for dry ration and got somerice. For five days, we had just rice and salt,” Wani claimed, adding thattaking food packets was risky and if by chance any of the students getsinfected with the virus, the trouble will only increase for them.
The 12 students, who belong to Ganderbal, Handwara, Kulgam,Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajaouri, and Budgam, are now hoping for help from theAdityanath government, which recently sent hundreds of buses to Rajasthan’sKota city, an education hub, to bring back thousands of students belonging toUP.
“We have reached out to our public representatives inKashmir but they are unable to help us. We urge UP Chief Minister YogiAdityanath to help us and send us back to our homes,” Wani said.
PTI’s calls to the Agra district magistrate fetched noresponse, while a senior UP government official said there was no arrangementfor the students to go back to Kashmir amid the lockdown.
“We will arrange food for the students, the officertold PTI.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday assuredhelp to the Kashmiri students stranded in Agra.
“A reassuring piece of information for anxious parentsin Jammu and Kashmir. 376 J&K students in Kota set to return tomorrow. Allarrangements finalised. The Narendra Modi government stands committed to thewell-being of these youngsters,” the minister of state in the PrimeMinister’s Office posted on Facebook.
Wani commented on the post, “Hundreds of J&Kstudents who had been stranded in Kota Rajasthan have started their journeytowards Home state today. Sir What about Us those Stuck in Agra UP, Sir casesare increasing here day by day. Plz evacuate us as soon as possible.(sic).”
In response to this comment, Singh, the Lok Sabha MP fromJ-K’s Udhampur constituency, said, “Sure Manzoor Wani. One by one. As soonas possible.”
As of Saturday evening, there were 371 positive cases ofcoronavirus, including eight deaths in Agra, the maximum in UP, according to anofficial state government figure.