By Musheera Ashraf, TwoCircles.net
ALIGARH: Scores of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students on Monday alleged facing inconvenience and hardship on their way home after the AMU administration had made travel arrangements for their return to different districts of Uttar Pradesh.
After 38 days of lockdown, the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) administration on April 30 had advised its students to take advantage of the proposed relaxation facility announced by the government and return to their hometowns.
In a circular issued by AMU Registrar Abdul Hamid, he said that as per the circular of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the students are allowed to go back to their hometown.
“Travel arrangements for students residing in UP have been made by the district administration. Students may contact their respective provost, and dean, student welfare and proctor for any clarification in this regard,” he said.
Many students agreed to travel back home to different districts of Uttar Pradesh.
However, scores of students complained of being stranded in Saharanpur and Bareilly, the videos of which went viral on social media.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, a few students who insisted on remaining anonymous, said that they were first taken to shelter homes and faced hardship.
The students were taken to Haroon Nagla shelter home in Bareilly for screening. “The authorities told us that we have to stay there for the whole night because the doctor will come in the morning,” a student said.
The students were then released around 10:30 a.m. the next day.
The students said, that after reaching Saharanpur, they were told that they will have to wait till the next day to know if they will be quarantined or released.
“We were only released after the intervention of some people from Saharanpur,” a student from Saharanpur said.
AMU administration claimed that 1890 students belonging to different states of U.P have reached home. “37 buses on the first day carried 1040 students and on the second day, 850 students were sent back in 27 buses,” they said.
But the students pointed out carelessness on part of the administration.
“The carelessness of the administration shows that they are shirking from their responsibilities,” a BA LLB student Hamza Masood said.
As some buses are scheduled to leave for Bihar and Jharkhand tomorrow and day after tomorrow, the students residing at the hostel are demanding that there should be proper arrangements in place to shift them.
The students demanded the buses be sanitised and the admin should ensure their safety.
“We don’t want to face the same situation as faced by the students who were stranded in Saharanpur and Bareilly,” a law student residing in the girl’s hostel said.
Another student said that while the provost has said that there will be two home guards accompanying us on the bus so that the buses are not halted. “But then the buses were stopped at several places and students also faced problems,” he said.
The students are demanding to go home only when proper measures of safety and precautions are taken.
“We are safe here. What is the fun of travelling from a safe place to a red zone? By doing this, we are putting ourselves and our family in danger,” another student said.