Assam: 309 Kokrajhar Residents Return Home amid Lockdown

Kokrajhar, April 26, 2020:

As many as 309 people from Kokrajhar stranded in various other districts of Assam amid the lockdown returned on Sunday via busus assigned by the Government. Many of the returnees heaved a sigh of relief after reaching their home districts after a prolonged absence, as the lockdown that has been imposed to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus has reached its 33rd day.

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"I study in the Bongaigaon college; I stay in a PG there. I feel so good; have come home after a long time. I made numerous attempts to contact the authorities and finally called 104. Finally, my prayers have been answered", said Arpita Roy, a young girl from Gossaigaon who was stranded in Bongaigaon after the lockdown was called.

An official said that buses were only carrying half the number of usual passengers in order to adhere to social distancing protocol. "Half the number of passengers are being allowed; if the quota is 42, only 21 passengers will be allowed", the official informed.

It may be mentioned here that a total of 309 people had registered their e-passes to return to Kokrajhar after they were stranded when the Government called for a complete lockdown amid burgeoning cases of the COVID-19 across the country.

The stranded peoples were have reportedly been bussed in from various districts such as Guwahati, Bongaigaon, Barpeta etc.

As a precautionary measure, the district administration has made a strict health screening centre for the returnees at the Government HS and MP schools in the district. After an initial round of testing, the returnees were allowed to leave for their homes in Government-owned as well as private vehicles.

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After the return of the 309 stranded Kokrajhar resident, Kokrajhar DC Partha Pratim Majumdar said that the district administration has conducted "strict" checkings of the people who have come back. "The stranded people travelled in buses under strict observation of security and under maintenance of the WHO-advised social distancing in their journey", he told us.

It may be mentioned here that as many as 6000 home bound people are travelling via the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) on Sunday. E-tickets for their travel were already issued on Saturday.

The ASTC has provided around 200 night buses in two slots. These long distance buses carrying the passengers to their respective districts began their journey today at 8 AM and 11 AM.

On Saturday, the e-tickets were provided to the ones wanting to travel to the other parts of the State. The ASTC had also arranged 80 city buses in Guwahati to take people from various points to four boarding points across the city.

The district administration has assured to provide local transport in the destination district for the convenience of the travellers. It may be mentioned here that people with only valid e-tickets have been allowed to travel in these 80 buses operating in Guwahati to reach boarding points.

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