Manipur violence: Telangana students from Manipur arrive at Hyderabad airport in special flight

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 8 : Amid the heightened tensions over the violence in Mpur, the students from Telangana who were studying in the state were brought back to Hyderabad by special flights on Monday.

The parents and relatives of the students reached the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, Hyderabad to receive their children.

Telangana Minister for Labour and Employment, Malla Reddy addressing the media said, "The students were very afraid as there were around five blasts near the campuses. The students never imagined they will reach back so soon. We arranged two flights to bring back all the Telangana students without causing them any trouble. We have also arranged around 10 buses to take the students to their respective villages".

"Our Chief Secretary has talked to his counterpart in Mpur to bring back the children safely. We will also discuss with Chief Minister KCR and KTR to make sure that their academic year doesn't get wasted. The parents also need not worry about it. Around 106 students have come now. We are coming to know that more 180 students are there. They will also reach here by evening as they are in Kolkata airport. Everyone is safe," he added.

Nagaraj, a student who came from Mpur said that the situation continues to remain intense at his campus having around 180 students.

"There are firings and blasts there. Poison was mixed in the water supply. There is a curfew there. We thought that it is not serious in the beginning. However, things turned out very intense. We faced issues in regard to food and water. CRPF, security guards, Army and others helped us and protected us," he said.

Mallesh, the father of a student said that the state government took the initiative to bring the students early.

"My son Sai Kiran is studying at Mpur NIT. The Telangana government has also took special care and also arranged food in Mpur. It also arranged a flight to bring them back. The children are safe. We hope that the government will further continue to help us," he said.

A girl whose brother came back from Mpur said that a bomb blasted right beside his hostel.

The sister of a student coming back from Mpur says, "My brother is coming back. His name is Sandeep. He is studying in IIIT Mpur. We have been receiving calls from him since the first day when the incidents started. He was concerned about the increasing number of bomb blasts there. He also told that a bomb had blasted right beside their hostel. There are also very low signals for mobiles there. We were very much tensed. However, now the government has responded very well," she said.

Meanwhile, Air India extended a full fee waiver on rescheduling or cancellation of tickets for all flights to or from Mpur till Monday.

The decision was taken in view of the situation in the northeastern state. The airline started to offer the concession on May 4.

Several state governments, including those in the Northeast, are working on plans to evacuate their citizens out of the violence-hit Mpur.

Internet services remain suspended in Mpur in view of the ethnic clashes.

Some relaxations to the curfew, which were introduced on Sunday to enable people to purchase items of daily need, continued as well on Monday.

Violence erupted amid protests against a high court order asking the state government to consider including the majority Meitei community in Mpur in the list of Scheduled Tribes.

Amid the demand of the Meitei people for ST status, a rally was orgsed by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) Mpur on Wednesday, which later turned violent.