“Bhaiyya we are very upset. We have nothing to eat. We ate food last night. It is already four in the evening today. We are still sitting hungry; do send us some help quickly,” said Ramanji Mahto, 18, over the phone.
When we last spoke on March 29, Ramanji Mahato, an aspirant from Darbhanga, Bihar undergoing preparation for medical entrance in Kota, Rajasthan, had nothing to eat. Although he managed to get some food from the NGOs, his problems were far from being resolved. He had travelled about 1,200 km away from his home, last year, to Kota in order to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor.
He told Gaon Connection over the phone: “After I had spoken to you, food was arranged for. The people who had come with the food offered their assistance in case of any future need, but now no one picks up the phone. For how long will anyone send food? Previously, the hostel had 30-40 children. Most of the children were from Uttar Pradesh and have long gone home. Now, three or four people are left who belong to Bihar. You please speak to the government to call us back too.”
In Kota, Rajasthan, students from all over the country come to prepare for the medical and engineering entrance exams. It also has a large number of students from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Upon the extension of the lockdown, when these students began facing increasing difficulties, first the government of Uttar Pradesh, then the government of Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, West Bengal and Assam also decided to bring back the students of their respective states from Kota, but Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, is constantly opposing it. He believes that it is a violation of the lockdown.
Now, students from Bihar are stranded in different parts of the country are demanding to return home. The students also staged a protest in Kota on April 27. The Kota Police has also registered a case against the mess and coaching centre operators, and the students.
“My father works in Surat (Gujarat). He doesn’t even have the money to send me. For how long will I be able to survive here? Somehow, we are managing upon khichdi. The mess is closed and there is nothing to eat outside. What other option do we have? Wouldn’t we sit on a protest if no one is listening to us?” asked Ramaji.
The story of Dharamvir living in Kota is also similar. He hails from Nalanda district in Bihar and is preparing for medical in Kota after taking a loan in 2019.
He informed: “My father lives in Nalanda. He is a labourer. With great difficulty he was able to send me some money. I was somehow managing the expenses here, but since the lockdown all the doors have been closed. Previously, 10 people lived with me in my PG accommodation, now only we two are left and both are from Bihar. The biggest problem is of food. The mess is closed and we don’t know how to cook. Somehow, we are managing to cook something but since Kota is a hotspot, we are very worried. I request Nitish Kumar ji to take us to our village from here.”
The demand for recalling the students of Bihar stranded in Kota and other states of the country is now slowly gaining momentum. While the opposition is taking the government to task through social media, student leaders from the Patna University staged a protest following which the student’s union president Manish Kumar and student leader Lav Kumar were arrested.
Rajan Kumar of Samastipur also prepares for medical while staying in Kota. He is now more disturbed because most of his PG mates have gone home.
He said: “The children from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, everywhere have gone away. Perhaps we are from Bihar, so it is happening to us. We are the last in every way and shall remain behind in this case too. We are growing mentally ill, living here confined to a room. What and how we will study, God only knows. We don’t know how to cook and no food arrangement is being made.”
Meanwhile, the students of Allahabad University at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh have been asked to vacate the hostel and return home. Here also, the students of Bihar are stranded and are now demanding from the Bihar government to send them to their homes. The students also kept a 12-hour fast on Tuesday on their demand.
Rahul Pandey, who is from the Siwan district of Bihar, is a student of Allahabad University and lives in the university hostel. He had been upset for quite a few days, but his discomfort increased when the university suddenly ordered all the students to vacate the hostels.
Rahul told Gaon Connection over the phone: “Tell me, is this is a joke or what. It is being told here that all the students must leave for their homes and vacate the hostel, but who will tell us how we will go home? The students from nearby districts have returned home, but our state government is not calling for us. This is an injustice to us.”
He added: “Our chief minister Nitish can provide a pass to bring the MLA’s son from outside, why is he then not calling us. Yogi Ji is calling his students. Let us be examined and then let us reach our home. If you cannot call us back, give us at least a pass so that we can go to our homes. No one knows when the lockdown will end. What will we do here?”
Anjay Pandey Baggi, the social media convener of the Student of India, Allahabad University, said: “We are talking to the university administration and also demanding that the students of Bihar be allowed to stay in the hostel till they are called back. This is unfair to the students.
The Patna University Students Union president Manish Kumar alleges that the government listens to only to the capitalists. Just before his arrest he told Gaon Connection over the phone: “We are constantly demanding from the Bihar government that the students of Bihar should be called from wherever they are stranded. If other state governments can do that, why is it not possible in our state? Our state government is also not interested in finding out what conditions our students are in there.”
Aditya Mohan, the national general secretary of the Mithila Student Union, accusing the Bihar government of insensitivity and negligence, said: “Every state government has agreed to withdraw its students from Kota, except Bihar. Kota students are dependent upon mess and hostel for food. They have very little means of cooking themselves. Presently, since the mess, hostels, etc, have been closed, thousands of these 17-18-year-old students have come to face starvation like situation there.”
He added: “Nitish Kumar is advising these students to stay put. In such a calamity, the behaviour of his government is insensitive and reckless. Can’t these children be provided with testing and home quarantine, etc, anywhere in their own state? The provision of placing the Kota students in the quarantine after quick testing, etc, should be made at the earliest.”
The matter of bringing children from Kota has reached the Patna High Court. The father of a Bihar student studying in Kota has filed a petition in the Patna High Court. The plea says that the student is having trouble living and eating in Kota. The girl’s father has said in the petition that just as the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, West Bengal and Assam have brought back their students studying in Kota, the Bihar government also must withdraw the students of the state. All the needs of Bihar students stranded in Kota should be met by the Bihar government, the Patna High Court said on April 28. This should include food and medical expenses also, the court said amid concerns about the students who make a beeline to the Rajasthan city known for its coaching centres for all-India competitive exams.
Pratyay Amrit, the Principal Secretary, Bihar Disaster Manager, told reporters on April 28 that a report has been submitted to the Registrar’s office of the High Court regarding the people of Bihar stranded in other states and the help being provided by the state government. The Bihar government said that the lockdown rules and guidelines of the central government are being strictly adhered to. No person from the state can be brought back during the lockdown period. Such people are being given one thousand rupees immediately along with proper food and ration.
