JNU advises students residing in hostels to return home

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Monday "strongly advised" students "stranded and residing" in its hostels to return to their native places as special trains and some intrastate bus services have started following relaxations in the Covid-19 lockdown.

The advisory led to a fresh confrontation between the students' union and the administration. The Students' Union opposed the circular, saying the university was deliberately putting students' lives and safety at risk.

In a circular, the Dean of Students, Professor Sudheer Pratap Singh said the university had issued



communications in March too, informing students about the closure of the institute and advising them to return home.

"However, many students requested to stay back in hostels at that time due to non-availability of public transport during the lockdown," the circular said. It stated that the Railways has now begun running some special trains and around 200 more trains will be made operational from June 1.

Intra-state bus and taxi services have also been started by state governments, it said. Moreover, some state governments have made transport arrangements for the return of students, it said.