On Monday, May 8, the Andhra Pradesh government arranged two special flights to fly back as many as 157 students from the state stranded in violence-torn Manipur. The flights will land at Hyderabad and Kolkata, and the government is making arrangements to ferry the students back home from there.
According to a press note from the government, 160 students from Andhra Pradesh are pursuing their education in various institutions such as the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and Central Agriculture University in the northeastern state. The control room set up at AP Bhavan in Delhi managed to track the whereabouts of these students, enabling the authorities to streamline evacuation efforts, as mentioned in a report by PTI.
A team of officials from AP Bhavan has been deputed to Kolkata to receive the students and assist them in taking connecting flights to Hyderabad. From Hyderabad airport, APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) buses will pick up the evacuees and take them back to their respective hometowns across the state.
The violence in Manipur erupted on Wednesday, May 3, between a tribal and non-tribal group. Yesterday, May 7, about 54 residents were reported to have been killed in the clashes and about 23,000 others were displaced. The Indian Army has informed that it has enhanced surveillance in the violence-hit regions, as per a report by Al Jazeera.
