COVID-19 Lockdown: 137 Foreign Students Stranded At NIT, Rourkela

Rourkela: As many as 137 foreign students have been stranded on the campus of National Institute of Technology (NIT) here following the countrywide lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19.

NIT, Rourkela has 275 foreign students. They hail from Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Oman, Iran, Nepal, Congo, Kuwait, UAE, Afghanistan and Maldives.

Following the outbreak, the NIT authorities on March 14 had ordered all students to vacate their hostels by midnight of March 17. The authorities, however, had given relaxation to the foreign students by allowing them to stay back at their own risk and responsibility.

While 138 foreign students had vacated their hostels between March 14 and 23 and shifted to the houses of their friends and relatives, the rest 137 stayed back.

These foreign students staying at two hostels (Bikram Sarabhai gents hostel and CV Raman ladies hostel) on the institute premises facing difficult times.

Some of them informed that as all restaurants have closed due to the lockdown, the institute authorities have opened two separate messes for boys and girls. Since the messes are not functioning properly due to less number of staff and cook, they are not able to get their food in time.

Meanwhile, following a request by the parents of 39 Sri Lankan students to the President of that country to bring them back home, the Sri Lankan government has taken up the matter with New Delhi.