Amid coronavirus COVID lockdown buses sent to Kota to bring students back, says Chhattisgarh CM

Raipur (Chhattisgarh): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said that 75 buses have been sent from the state to bring back around 1,500 students from Kota in Rajasthan following the central government`s consent.

"After the consent of the central government, buses have been sent to bring the children of Chhattisgarh from Kota, Rajasthan. Along with this, information about labourers who are stranded in various states is also being sought. They will also be brought to the state," Baghel said.

"About 1,500 children are stranded in Kota. The number of labourers in other states is more than one lakh," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on March 24 announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown was later extended till May 3.

As many as 70 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Rajasthan on Friday, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 2,034, the state health department said.

Out of the total cases, 776 are from Jaipur, 316 from Jodhpur, 144 from Kota, 11 from Tonk, 107 from Bharatpur and 106 from Ajmer among others.