Bihar: 163 students return home from strife-torn Manipur

PATNA: Emotions ran high at the Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport as anxious parents reunited with their children, who were stranded at different educational institutions in the strife-torn Manipur. A special flight from Imphal arranged by the Bihar government and carrying 163 students from different parts of the state, including 21 from Jharkhand, landed at Patna airport at 11am on Tuesday.
They were welcomed with roses by the authorities and received warm hug from their parents and family members. Separate buses were arranged for Bihar and Jharkhand students to carry them from the airport to their native places. Most of them were studying at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and Central Agricultural University (CAU).
Mayank Raj, a fourth year computer science student at NIT-Manipur and a resident of Patna thanked the state government for their timely rescue. "The situation outside the campus was tense. Firing, bombing and explosion took place only few metres away from the campus after the violence broke out," he said.
Madhu Kumari, a student of Imphal CAU, said the situation has improved a bit during the last two days after the Army started patrolling the areas near the campus. "There was still an atmosphere of panic among people. There was no internet connection after the clash broke out. I informed my parents about the situation every hour. After violence, the exams have been postponed in our college and about 50 days holiday has been declared in the university," she said.
Saumya Subhi, who hails from Ram Nagar in West Champaran and is a second year MBBS student at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal, recalled how she could not sleep for two nights due to bombing in the vicinity. "People who were protesting stopped supplying food. As our campus is in the hilly area, we faced shortage of food and water," she said, adding after the officials contacted them, nine medical students were taken to the Imphal airport in an ambulance and then they took the flight arranged by the Bihar government.
An 18-year-old Pradeep Ojha from Ara said bombing and firing happened outside the campus even after the Army were deployed in the area. "I witnessed such a violence for the first time. Most of the students could not sleep properly. By 6pm, the administration asked us to switch off the lights. We were also facing shortage of food and water. Due to low supply of food, we got meal only twice a day," said Ojha, a first year mechanical engineering student of NIT-Manipur.
A native of Kaimur (Ramgarh) and a fourth year agriculture student of Imphal CAU, Shruti Singh said, "I am feeling relieved to be back home. The situation was really bad on May 3 and 4. We get only rice and dal in meal due to curfew in the area. My parents were also very worried."