Jharkhand government has arranged for the safe evacuation of 22 students by flight from strife-torn Manipur.

The state migrant control room, functioning under the Jharkhand labour department and managed by Phia Foundation, booked the tickets of 22 out of the 34 students whose details were available to the state government.

“We received a list of 34 students studying in various educational institutions in Manipur. We managed to establish contact with all of them. However, 22 students agreed to return to Jharkhand, while the other 12 students expressed their desire to stay back.

"Out of 22 students, 21 arrived in Patna along with Bihar students on Tuesday morning and would reach Ranchi in the evening by bus. One student would come by a flight via Calcutta and would also reach Ranchi on Tuesday evening,” said Phia Foundation regional director Johnson Topno.

Chief minister Hemant Soren had directed the state migrant control room to ensure the safe return of all the students and provide all possible help to people of Jharkhand stranded in Manipur.

“All these students were studying at the National Institute of Technology Manipur, Central Agricultural University, National Sports University and IIIT- Manipur. Till now we have not received any calls for labourers stranded in Manipur. We have released advertisements in social media and newspapers announcing our helpline numbers — 0651-2481055, 0651-2480058, 0651-248008, 0651-2481188, 0651-248202, WhatsApp numbers 9470132591, 9431336398, 9431336472 — so that anyone can contact for safe evacuation from Manipur,” said Topno.

The 22 evacuated students are from West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, Bokaro, Dhanbad and Ranchi.