Guwahati, Apr 25 (IANS): Taking a cue from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the Assam government has facilitated the return of 391 students stranded in Rajasthan's Kota amid the nationwide lockdown restrictions, officials said on Saturday.

Assam's Transport Department officials said that the students started their 2,000-km homebound journey from Kota on Friday in 17 air-conditioned sleeper buses. They are expected to reach Assam on Sunday after passing through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

According to Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the students are returning to the state from Kota in Rajasthan after paying Rs 7,000 each as the bus fare.

"When the students, accompanied by eight police personnel, return to Assam, their swab samples would be tested, and they would be sent to quarantine," said Sarma, who interacted with the stranded students thrice through video-conference using the Zoom platform.

In Agartala, a guardian of a stranded student said that over 500 students and guardians of other northeastern states including Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya are also stranded in Kota.

"We have approached the Tripura government to bring back the students of the state," said Sujit Sarkar, the father of a student who studies at a private coaching centre in Kota.