Guwahati, Oct 9: Several students from Assam who were stranded in flood-affected Sikkim have been evacuated in a rescue operation led by the Assam government.
The students, a majority of whom were reportedly enrolled at Sikkim Manipal University, arrived here on Monday morning.
They were brought to the city from Sikkim on six Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) buses, which had to take an alternative route as the highway was still cut off.
“All the students from Assam stranded in Sikkim due to the natural disaster have reached Guwahati safely. I received them at Hotel Radisson Blu and welcomed them home this morning,” Assam education minister Ranoj Pegu informed.
The education minister thanked the officers and the team from the state government who were sent to Sikkim to bring the students home. “The highway was still cut off and our buses evacuated the students by a different route,” Pegu said.
On October 6, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed that two senior officers were sent to Sikkim to oversee the evacuation of 160 students from Rangpo and Majitar.
Lauding the rescue teams from both states, Sarma posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, “Despite normal routes being closed, we were able to bring back our students home in the shortest possible time through alternative roads, with round the clock coordination with the Sikkim government. My compliments to the teams in both states for this effort.”
