Outstation students have been asked to vacate hostels following the closure of their institutions due to the novel coronavirus threat, but getting tickets home is proving to be another story.

Ranchi has institutions such as IIM and BIT-Mesra with students from across the country.

Faced with orders to go home, students are discovering that train and plane tickets are scarce.

Supriya Kadu, a first-year student of MBA-HR at IIM-Ranchi, who hails from Nagpur, Maharashtra, said she had to “pay through the nose” for an air ticket home.

“What else could I have done? I have to go home, right, even though airfares have skyrocketted,” said the student. “My main worry now is my luggage. I have to make sure my luggage doesn’t exceed the permissible limit and I don’t end up paying more for extra,” she said.

Prashanta Purakayastha, a third-year biotechnology student of BIT-Mesra whose home is Silchar, Assam, said he did not have to pay a premium for a flight home. “Possibly because I will have a longer layover at Calcutta airport for the connecting flight to Silchar,” he said.

Prakriti Agarwal, a Kanpur girl who is also a first-year student pursuing MBA-HR programme at IIM-R, said she bought a wait-listed train ticket and “am praying it gets confirmed”.

Even others who are not from far-off places are also facing problems in getting tickets.

Ruchira Mishra, a third-year physics student of BIT-Mesra, said her hometown was Durgapur, Bengal, which is hardly far.

“But even I had to wait for two days to get a confirmed ticket,” Ruchira said. “I can imagine the plight of those whose hometowns are pretty far,” she added.

But the students were all praise for the administration of their respective educational institutions.

Ruchira said while they were asked to vacate hostels, they were also allowed to stay for a day or two when they approached the administration and said they could not get tickets

Agreed Prakriti and Supriya of IIM-R. “The director and the adminstration (of IIM-R) were very supportive,” Prakriti said. “Not only were we allowed to stay in the hostel for two-three days but our mess was also kept open.”

“They are even providing buses to drop us at the railway station or airport and helping us with flight and train schedules,' Supriya added.