Kota Students Evacuarted – No Plans For Migrant Workers – Free PDF

Kota – A coaching hub

• Kota, a city in Rajasthan is known for its coaching centres.
• About 5 lakh students visit Kota every year for coaching for engineering, medical and other entrance examinations
• Since the lockdown was imposed across the country last month to control the spread of COVID-19 infections, the students have been anxious to get back to their homes in different states.
• Students were feeling lonely, stressed and anxious due to no coaching, uncertain exam dates, restricted interaction with other students and coaching institutes, and limited availability of food.
• Most are facing financial constraints as they did not account for the extra time they will need to spend in Kota.
• Many Students use basic phones – no access to ‘online’ classes.
• Some of them are as young as 15 years of age and are desperate to go home as the lockdown has now been extended.
• A social media campaign called #SendUsBackHome was started on 14 April by the students stuck in Kota, following which the UP government decided to send around 250 buses.

Inter state co-operation

• The move by UP CM Yogi Adityanath earned praise from Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot who said other state governments should also ensure that students stranded in the coaching city during the lockdown are able to reach their homes safely.

Complete preparation

• Officials said the buses were sanitised and the students departing for their hometowns were being thermal screened before boarding them.
• Food packets, water bottles, masks are also being provided to the students.

• There are still about 20,000 students in the town from states like Bihar, Jharkhand, CG and MP

Counter Arguments

• Buses filled with young students would defeat the purpose of the lockdown at a time social distancing is critical
• The large scale transfer Could exacerbate the contagion (100 cases in Kota)
• This will open up a Pandora’s box – If you allow students, on what grounds can you stop migrant labourers who are also stuck?

The Plight of migrant workers

• MATTER OF DIGNITY – ‘Handouts’ is not what everyone wants.
• Emotional distress
• Migrant daily wagers and labourers returning from Delhi and other cities to their villages are being subjected to “social boycott”.
• COVID Spread in the ‘shelter homes’ for workers.

Deaths

• Some people died under the physical strain of the relentless walking
• Some have been killed in road accidents.
• Many have been beaten at state borders by police.

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