SoS To Govt From Odisha Girl Stranded in Kota: Please Arrange For My Return

Kota: Those under ‘house arrest’ during the nationwide lockdown may not be able to step out of home, but they are far better off than thousands who are stranded in places far from their residence.

Left alone at her hostel in Rajasthan’s Kota, life has been a struggle for Pooja Agarwal from Odisha’s Sonepur district.

With the nationwide lockdown extended upto May 3 amidst the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country, Pooja — who is undergoing a coaching course in Kota to prepare for her medical entrance — could not return home due to the cancellation of train services. With no one in the hostel, she has requested the government to arrange for her evacuation.

“If buses or any other mode of transport can’t be arranged due to distance issues, at least allow my parents to take me from here in our personal conveyance. It has become difficult to survive here. There is no proper food and the hostel authorities are not concerned. I am unable to concentrate on my studies. I want to come back,” Agarwal said in a video message.

Students from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand have returned home from Kota, she said while showing empty rooms in another video.