Jitendra Kumar, a student pursuing B.Tech from National Institute of Technology (NIT) Manipur, thanked his stars as he, along with seven other students from the same batch, boarded the flight on Monday afternoon.
Jitendra, a first-year student, hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district. Though UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the Home Department to help students stranded in violence-hit Manipur, Kumar and other students said they are yet to get any help.
Jitendra, among the few fortunate who managed their way to the airport, called the 10-km journey from his college to the airport as the longest of his life. “It took almost three days for us to cover the 10-km stretch. It was after thorough planning and with the help of the locals that we somehow managed to reach the airport on Monday morning. I thanked the almighty that we were still alive,” he said.
The student said it all began almost a week ago when the very first incident, in which a vehicle was set ablaze at Phougakchao Ikhai Awang Leikai in Bishnupur district, came to light. In retaliation, members of the rival group torched a vehicle in Churachandpur district.
“And soon after, things took an ugly turn. Initially, we thought that we were safe at the college campus, but soon we realised that we were stuck,” said Jitendra.
His batch-mate Abhishek Kumar, another B.Tech student who hails from UP’s Gorakhpur, said the college management helpful, but had their limitations. With all essential services snapped, it was getting difficult for them to feed the students.
“There were times when there was no water to drink and we were only served with meal a day. The last six days were the toughest of our lives. It was only pain, trauma and fear. What we experienced is hard to express in words,” said Abhishek, who also boarded the flight to Kolkata on Sunday.
He added that the students virtually gave up three days ago. “With no food, no money, no internet, no electricity and no help from the state or the Centre, we gave up almost three days ago. We insisted to the college management that we need a vehicle that can ferry us to the airport. After being persuaded for long, the college eventually agreed and provided us a tempo traveller to reach the airport. However, it took us almost three days to reach the airport, which was a mere 10km from the college,” he added.
“We managed tickets on our own. Since there was no direct flight to UP, we boarded a flight to Kolkata,” he said.
The students don’t have any plans to return till the situation eases out in Manipur.
Abhishek said more than 150 students from UP are still stuck in Manipur.
Nearly 10,000 soldiers from the Army and the Assam Rifles have been deployed in the state which was rocked by clashes between the Meitei community, who mainly live in Imphal Valley, and Kuki tribals, who are inhabitants of the hill districts. Around 13,000 civilians have been rescued and are currently staying in various ad-hoc boarding facilities specifically created for the purpose military garrisons. The death toll is estimated to have reached 54.
On Sunday, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had directed the Home Department to help students from the state currently stranded in Manipur. The chief minister’s direction came after the students appealed to the Uttar Pradesh government to rescue them.
A government official said Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad had spoken to the chief secretary of Manipur and requested him to help students from Uttar Pradesh. He added that the state relief commissioner’s office has also been directed to coordinate with the Manipur government.
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