The Greater Mumbai Boro Kachari Association (GMBKA) has requested the Assam government to make arrangements for safe transportation of the state’s people stranded in Mumbai.

The Association said the people, who have remained stranded in Mumbai due to the nationwide lockdown in view of COVID19 pandemic, now want to return to their homes in Assam.

“A large number of students from many colleges and universities of Mumbai, Pune, Goa and patients, tourists, workers from Assam are stuck in Mumbai and the neighbouring region due to coronavirus lockdown,” said Birendra Nath Swargiary, secretary of the Association.

Assam government has already taken home more than 300 students from Kota in Rajasthan.

“There are at least 2,000-3,000 people from different parts of Assam, who are mostly working in the industrial sector and studying in many universities in the financial capital of India,” informed Swargiary.

The Association requested the state government to make arrangements for transporting these people from Mumbai to their homes in Assam as soon as possible.

The Association in a statement said they are helping the stranded students, patients and workers staying in Mumbai and New Mumbai with the help NGOs and other agencies.

“We have already submitted a list of more than 1,000 people with proper IDs like Aadhaar and Voter Cards to GP Singh, ADGP (Law & Order), nodal officer of Assam, to take back the stranded people at [email protected],” Swargiary informed.

“The second list of 500 people is being compiled and decision from the Assam government is not confirmed. We have collected the data of the persons, who want to go back home (amid the lockdown) as per the new guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),” Swargiary added.

The Association also informed that there are more than 200 people from Tezpur, Dibrugarh, 300 from Gohpur and Golaghat, 200 from Goalpara, 200 from Udalguri, 200 from Chirang & Kokrajhar, 200 from Baksa district.

The Mumbai Bodo Society, a voluntary organization, has also requested the authorities to make arrangements for transporting them back to their home state in coordination with the Assam and Maharashtra governments and the Central ministries concerned.

“We have requested the Assam government to arrange train from Mumbai to Assam so that these stranded people can go back home safely,” the statement said.

The students want to go back home because all colleges and universities are shut and online classes are being conducted.

The Association said the Railways recently started special trains from Mumbai, Nasik to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha to transport stranded people in Maharashtra in close coordination with the Union home ministry and the state governments.

“We strongly urge the government of Assam to make similar arrangements for the stranded people of Assam in coordination with government of Maharashtra,” the Association said.

Rinoy Basumatary is Northeast Now Correspondent in Kokrajhar. He can be reached at: [email protected]