Manipur: Telangana Evacuates 72 People Stranded In Violence-Hit State, Two More Flights On Way

The Telangana government has decided to airlift its students and citizens from Imphal to Hyderabad in the wake of the prevailing law and order situation in Manipur.

The people were brought from Imphal to Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (Representational Image)

Source : PTI

About 72 people from Telangana, mostly students, stranded in violence-hit Manipur arrived in Hyderabad from Imphal on Monday afternoon by a special flight arranged by the state government, PTI reported. Telangana Education Minister Ch Malla Reddy and senior officials received them at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

"The Telangana government has brought 72 students and civilians in distressed condition by direct flight from Imphal to Hyderabad. Another 34 are reaching Hyderabad via Kolkota by this evening," a government press release said.

Students studying at NIT, IIIT, JIMS, Manipur Agriculture University, and some distressed civilians, including a one-month-old baby and its parents from Nirmal district, have been safely brought back. All of them thanked the Telangana government for the humanitarian effort, the release further said.

Two more flights will reach Hyderabad on Monday night with students and other people onboard. Revenue and police officials made all arrangements to ensure that the students reached their homes safely, Reddy told media persons at the airport.

A student, who is studying BTech in Imphal, told PTI at the airport that they faced a lot of problems with regards to food and other amenities at their hostel.

READ | Andhra Pradesh Govt Organizes Special Flights To Evacuate Stranded Students From Violence-Hit Manipur

"There was no water supply in the hostel. We had to collect water in a bucket every day and use it for our basic daily needs. We thank our KCR (Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao) government for helping us," the student said, adding they heard sounds of blasts in their locality in the northeastern state.

Some students said that they would not mind going back to their educational institutions in Manipur when the situation improved.

In the wake of the prevailing law and order situation in Manipur, the Telangana government decided to airlift its students and citizens from Imphal to Hyderabad.

Telangana Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari contacted her Mainpur counterpart to facilitate the safe transit of Telangana students from the northeastern state.

The clashes in Manipur began last Wednesday in Churachandpur district when tribal groups protested against the Meitei reservation following a High Court order on March 27.

The court had instructed the state government to submit a recommendation to the Centre within four weeks regarding the demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status by the Meitei community.

Life is limping back to normalcy in violence-hit Manipur as people came out of their homes to buy essential items, with the curfew being relaxed for a few hours on Monday morning, officials said.