GUWAHATI: In a first, a bus has been flagged off from Assam to carry people hailing originally from Rajasthan back to their home state amidst the lockdown.
In an earlier initiative, 391 students stranded in Kota, Rajasthan were brought back to Assam by the Assam government.
Seeing that the buses were going back empty, the Northeast Marwari Federation has shown true meaning of "Atithi Devo Bhavah" by arranging for people of Rajasthan stranded in Assam to go back to their hometowns.
A total of approximately 300 people embarked on the 2,000 kilometre bus journey on April 29.
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"There were many people from Rajasthan stranded in Assam - those who work here, those that had come for medical reasons, tourists and many others. Seeing that the buses were going back empty, we took the initiative to facilitate the movement of such people to their homes," informed Vivek Sanganeria, Public Relation Officer of the Federation, speaking to G Plus.
Elaborating on the initiative, Madhusudan Sikaria, President of the federation said, "Firstly we would like to thank the Assam government for its initiative of bringing back students from Kota. When we found that the buses were returning to Rajasthan without passengers we chalked out a plan to help people from Rajasthan. We are very grateful to both Assam government and Rajasthan government for helping us with the initiative."
It should be mentioned that the federation received over 2,000 calls from people who wished to board the bus to Rajasthan.
All 300 people on board the special buses are from different parts of Rajasthan including Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota and Bikaner.
However, the bus only has two destinations - Jaipur and Bikaner.
Speaking to media about the initiative, a Pandit said, "I hail from Bikaner in Rajasthan but have been working in Guwahati since the last 15 years. Due to lockdown, all community gatherings have been prohibited and I have been stuck in Guwahati away from home. I am very thankful for the initiative of sending people like me back to our family."
It should be mentioned that the buses have sleeper beds and washrooms in them.
Further, all meals for the passengers have been sponsored and taken care of by the federation.