Altogether 391 students from Assam, who have been stranded at Kota in Rajasthan because of the lockdown, were evacuated by the Assam government on Friday and started their homeward journey around 2pm.

The students are being brought back to Guwahati by road from Kota via Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in 17 air-conditioned sleeper buses but they will have to bear the cost of the journey, which is Rs 7,000 per head. They will take around 36 hours to reach here.

Sources said the government sent two police officials to Kota by chartered flight this morning to bring back the students. The officials will take care of all the formalities and arrangements and escort the students back so that there is no problem during the journey.

Once they return, the students, mostly around 18 years of age, will be quarantined at Srirampur or Sarusajai. The officials who are conducting the “rescue operation” will also be quarantined.

Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Assam government came under pressure after other states started evacuating their students from Kota and because all the students are young.

He said the government would consider similar appeals of students from Assam stranded in other parts of the country. If they want to return via bus, the government would look for solutions like making arrangements and acquiring permission for inter-state movement.

Kota is known as a hub for engineering coaching and attracts students from across the country.