Over 70 students and parents from Tamil Nadu, who are stuck at Kota, Rajasthan due to the lockdown, have appealed to the State government to allow them to return home.
The parents have accompanied their children who are undergoing coaching at various institutions in Kota to appear for entrance examinations such as Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE Main) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
“Seventy-eight of us are willing to go back to Tamil Nadu ,” said P. Tamilselvan, a parent from Udumalpet in Tiruppur district whose daughter T. Aishwarya has been staying in Kota for the past two years for JEE preparations. These 78 persons are from districts such as Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Chennai and Chengalpattu, who have also formed a group on WhatsApp to keep each other posted. He said that a section of parents recently appealed to Kota District Collector Om Prakash Kasera and Nodal Officer for Tamil Nadu V. Saravana Kumar regarding the issue and they responded ‘postively’, he said.
While Mr. Tamilselvan has been staying with her daughter for a year, S. Breetha from Coimbatore city came to Kota to visit her son S. Shifaashwanth on March 3 and got stuck there once the nationwide lockdown was announced. “The groceries we purchased earlier are about to get over,” she said, adding that there were no grocery stores that remained open in the locality during the lockdown. She and her 17-year-old son are staying in a paying guest (PG) accommodation. “My husband and daughter are stuck in Coimbatore,” Ms. Breetha said.
Another parent, Ambika from Mangalam, Tiruppur district, has been staying in Kota with her daughters G. Udayasankari, studying in Class X, and G. Jyotika, studying in Class VIII. They have started preparations for JEE Mains in a private coaching institute, which have now cancelled classes owing to the lockdown, she said. “My children are staying indoors and they are not able to study properly because of the mental stress caused by the lockdown,” Ms. Ambika said.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Kumar said that the modalities for their return are yet to be finalised by the government. “All the students have entered Kota as their examination centres,” he said, noting that it is unclear whether their return to Tamil Nadu would precipitate a change of examination centres. With JEE and NEET scheduled to be held in May, subjecting the students to extensive medical tests might hamper with their preparations, he said. Mr. Kumar, who is the Commissioner of Horticulture Department, Government of Rajasthan, said that none among the 78 students and parents have showed symptoms of COVID-19.
L.N. Soni, Divisional Commissioner for Kota Division, said that nearly 120 people from Tamil Nadu are residing in Kota. “Tamil Nadu government has not yet requested for any arrangements,” Mr. Soni said. Despite multiple attempts, Mr. Kasera was not available for comments.
