Life in the state capital has gone turned upside down following a complete lockdown implemented by the government across the state to fight against Covid-19 outbreak.
While families in the city are trying to cope up with prohibition on going out and essential items fast disappearing from stores, it’s mainly the students staying away from their families who seem to be in real trouble these days.
Though majority of such students, who were put up at private lodges and rented rooms, have already left, partly because of the pressure by the district administration and partly because of lodge owners wanting to vacate the rooms avoid spread of Covid-19, some continued to stay back and are now feeling the heat of the lockdown.
“ We’re ruing the day we decided to stay back to concentrate on our studies and preparations. As some examinations were scheduled in April and June, we did not want to break the tempo of our studies. But, we had no idea that getting even essential materials would get cumbersome,” Yogesh Bharat, a student from Nawada sharing a rented room with five other students in Ashok Rajpath area of the city, said.
Earlier, the students used to have food at a mess located close to their accommodations. “After the government announced closure of all restaurants and hotels across the state, the mess owner also pulled the shutter down. For days, we managed to sustain on ready-made food items like Sattu and Chura or beaten rice but could not eat it for any long,” he said.
Total lockdown has put students in a far more difficult situation with food items not being available at the general stores and going to other areas too is not possible due to strict local administration, he added.
For these migrant students, while going back to their native places is difficult now as no transport facility is available, even staying back doesn’t look like a better option, he added.
Riya Sinha, a school teacher at Rajendra Nagar, said some students who were living in the flat opposite hers had left for their villages before Holi. “But some are still staying. Far more distressing is how prices of food materials have gone up and its getting difficult for the students to afford living here,” she said.
Santosh Kumar, a social activist from Gandhi Setu area in the city, said that the administration should do something for the students stranded in the city. “They should be provided ready-made food items to sustain,” he said.
