The tourists boarded a blue bus, wearing face masks, as local police and government officials watched
Highlights
- 48 tourists from Agartala were stranded in Agra since March 22
- The tourists will pass through 5 states before entering Tripura
- Agra has most number of coronavirus cases within Uttar Pradesh
48 tourists from the north-eastern state of Tripura, who were stuck in the west Uttar Pradesh city of Agra for over a month because of the lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic, have finally started their journey back home this afternoon, in a semi-luxury bus. But the journey back will be very tough - it will take at least three days of non-stop driving as the distance between Agra and Tripura's capital Agartala is a massive 2,224 kilometres and the bus will pass through UP, Bihar, Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya before entering Tripura.
Pictures from Agra showed men and women boarding a blue coloured bus, wearing face masks and watched on by the local police and government officials.
The tourists had reached Agra in a group on March 22, aiming to spend a few days in the city, see the Taj Mahal and other famous monuments before heading back to Agartala. Before coming to Agra, the group had spent some time in the holy city of Mathura, about 50 km beyond Agra.
"I guess one can say fate intervened," says Balaram Debnath, one of the tourists who boarded the bus back home.
"I am very happy to be heading home. But we had no problems here. The local administration took care of us. The police also made arrangements like food. The hotel owner was also cooperative. I never felt that I was not at home, but one does wish to head back at the end of the day," adds Mr Debnath.
The Agra district administration says they arranged for the bus after a member of parliament from Tripura got in touch with the local BJP parliamentarian SP Singh Baghel.
"This was not a banwas (exile). This was a home away from home. I want to thank everyone in the local administration. They even arranged for food according to the food habits of the tourists. I want to thank the bus owner too. I must emphasize that all of these people have been screened four times and the bus has been totally sanitised as well," says Mr Baghel.
The tourists have been stranded in Agra after a nationwide lockdown was announced in March
The local administration says they decided to issue passes for these stranded tourists on priority because it was felt the journey back could be facilitated at this time. Ration has been provided in the bus and arrangements for stopovers along the route are being coordinated.
Visuals from Agra showed the women in the group offering prayers in a small temple close to their hotel before boarding the bus. "I am so happy I cannot describe it," one of the women told journalists, before her voice choked with emotion.
Agra has the maximum number of coronavirus positive cases for Uttar Pradesh, and much of the city has been declared as a hotspot by the district administration. While the success of the local administration in handling the pandemic was initially lauded, stories of mismanagement and apathy have also emerged from here in the last week.
On Wednesday, the centre said that migrant labourers, students, pilgrims or tourists who do not have symptoms of coronavirus can return to their home states. The home ministry issued a set of guidelines, in which it asked states to appoint nodal bodies and draw up protocols for the movement of the stranded people.