Maharashtra Sends Buses for 150 Stranded IIT-Ians in Chennai

Mumbai, Dec 4 (IANS) The Maharashtra government announced on on Friday it has despatched two buses to evacuate 150 IIT students from the state who are stranded in flood-hit Chennai in response to an SOS from them.

A state government official received a message for help from the students - all studying in IIT Madras - who reported being stuck in the flood-ravaged city, and this was immediately relayed to the state relief and rehabilitation department.

"Maharashtra government immediately arranges two buses from Bengaluru for the stranded students and will ensure that they return home soon," tweeted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

A spokesperson of the chief minister's office said that the buses have departed from Bengaluru Friday morning for Chennai, a distance of around 350 km or a nearly seven-hour-long journey.

Depending on the rain situation en route, the buses were expected to reach Chennai by late afternoon, pick up the students and return to Bengaluru.

"From there, we shall make arrangements to send them to their homes in Maharashtra till the flood situation in Tamil Nadu normalizes," the official told IANS.

The IIT-Madras, located in on the banks of River Adyar in the posh south Chennai area, is among the worst-hit in the current floods plaguing the city since the past few days.

The IIT-Madras has assured that all residents - students and faculty - on the sprawling 250 hectares campus are safe, and there is sufficient availability of food and drinking water there.

However, the entire campus is without electricity and the telephone connectivity is minimal though the authorities concerned are attempting to resolve these problems, said an official statement on its website.