A group of 22 students from Maharashtra, who were stranded in the troubled state of Manipur, will arrive in Mumbai this evening via Guwahati on a special flight, officials said here on Monday.
The flight is scheduled to depart from Guwahati at approximately 4:30 PM and arrive in Mumbai after a couple of hours. Currently, the stranded students are traveling from Imphal, a distance of about 500 km, to Guwahati to catch their flight.
After Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde communicated with his counterparts in Assam and Manipur regarding the safety of students from his state who were stranded there, the situation was resolved. On Sunday night, Shinde stated that he had personally talked with two students, Vikas Sharma, and Tushar Awhad, and guaranteed them that they would safely return home.
The majority of these students are studying at NIT or IIIT-Manipur, and their difficult situation was brought to public attention by Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar and Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar on Saturday.
On Saturday, the Pawars appealed to the state government to promptly address the situation and guarantee the security of the students who were stranded in Manipur amidst the ongoing violence in the region.