Students of NIT Srinagar leave for respective states

Days after Jammu and Kashmir state government issued an advisory curtailing the stay of Amarnath Yatris and tourists in the Valley, students of National Institutes of Technology (NIT) Srinagar, who were asked to vacate the college premises, have reached Jammu Tawi railway station here on Sunday.

According to the authorities, the students are asked to return to their respective states until further notice is issued by the institute regarding the same.

"Along with district administration and railway authorities, necessary arrangements have been made for the NIT Srinagar students to reach their home back safely. After the advisory was issued, students reached the Jammu railway station and arrangements for food have also been made here," Shrikant Suse, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of South Jammu told ANI.

Adding that over 200 students will be sent separately in the next train, Suse said, "As many as 180 students were sent back till now. Moreover, around 80-90 students from Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have already boarded a train. Extra bogies are also being added to these trains to accommodate more students."

Samulya Parameshwar Reddy, a student of NIT Srinagar, told ANI: "On Friday, the college administration issued a notice asking us to vacate the college. They also informed us that they will provide bus services to reach Jammu railway station."

"In the notice, the institute said that classes have been suspended till August 15. Apart from this, we don't have any information on when will the college be reopened," Reddy, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, said.

Another student Gaurav Kumar said, "The institute has arranged over 70 buses for us to reach Jammu station. They also informed that the Indian Army and Railway department will help us reach home safe. Several students from various departments are here waiting for the train to reach their respective homes."

On August 2, the Indian Army had said that Pakistan terrorists are plotting to carry out an attack on the ongoing Amarnath Yatra and that the security forces even recovered a Pakistan Ordnance Factory anti-personnel mine from a terror cache.

Keeping security threats in view, the Jammu and Kashmir government advised all Amarnath Yatris and tourists to curtail their stay in the Valley "immediately".