A total of 128 students of Sikkim were evacuated from violence-hit Manipur and were being brought back to the state on Sunday, officials said.

The stranded students were first brought to Kolkata on flights arranged by the state government from Imphal. From Kolkata, they boarded buses for Siliguri in northern West Bengal. From Siliguri, they will be brought to state capital Gangtok by SNT buses.

A doctor from Sikkim, who was posted in a far-off area in Manipur, was also safely brought back, officials said.

Chief Secretary VB Pathak led the ‘Operation Gurans’ to bring back the students.

Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang was constantly monitoring the situation, and took stock of the safety and security of the students, officials said.

Sikkim worked with the Manipur government for the safe passage of the students from their respective hostels to the airport, they said.

Sikkim extended gratitude to Manipur for ensuring the safe return of the students.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said a special flight will be arranged for students from the state currently stuck in the riot-hit Manipur.

CM Shinde in an official statement said his government was keeping a watch on the situation in Manipur.

“There are 22 students (in Manipur) from Maharashtra. I have spoken to two of them – Vikash Sharma and Tushar Awhad – and assured them of arranging a special flight to return home. I told them not to be afraid of anything, the state is making all the necessary arrangements to bring them back safely,” he said.

The students were studying in some of the technology institutes based in Manipur, the release said.

“I have also spoken to Maharashtra Chief Secretary Manoj Sounik and other state officials to make the necessary arrangements. We are currently watching the situation closely,” the CM said.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has voiced concern over the safety of students from the state stranded in violence-hit Manipur.

Gehlot on Saturday said that top officials of his government are in touch with officials in the northeastern state.

“The news of some students of Rajasthan being trapped in Manipur violence is worrying,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

“The chief secretary and the director general of police of Rajasthan are in touch with senior officials there and soon efforts will be made to bring them home safely,” the chief minister added.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday reviewed the rescue of students of his state from violence-hit Manipur. So far, 83 students of Meghalaya were evacuated from Manipur by air, a senior state Home Department official told PTI.

At the review meeting, Sangma was told that 66 students reached the Guwahati airport by an Alliance Air flight on Friday. On arrival, they were provided with food, and transportation was arranged for their return by buses to Meghalaya, officials said.

On Saturday, 17 students were rescued and brought to Guwahati, they said.

Fifty students will arrive in Guwahati on Sunday, 70 students on Monday and 30 students on Tuesday, they added.

On Wednesday, the travel for the remaining 15 students will be facilitated, officials said.

The state government has deputed two officers to oversee the evacuation from Manipur, they said.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Kerala assembly and Congress leader V D Satheesan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to ensure Malayalees stuck in Manipur are safe and to help them return to Kerala.

In the letter, Satheesan also raised concerns about “the tragic events of vandalism of Christian churches and persecution of members of the Christian community in the state of Manipur”.

He contended that the north-eastern state was peacefully administered by the Congress, when it was in power there, and now it has allegedly been transformed into a “hotbed of intense sectarian conflict”.

A day earlier, the Kerala Catholic Bishop Council, the apex body of the Catholic Church in the state, strongly condemned the ethnic violence in Manipur and urged the union government to take necessary steps to restore peace in the northeastern state.

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The Telangana Government has decided to immediately airlift its students and citizens from Imphal to Hyderabad by a special flight on Sunday.

A press release from Telangana Government said, it is taking all measures to ensure the safety of its students and people residing in the northeastern state.

As per information available, about 250 students belonging to Telangana are studying in various educational institutions in Imphal and surrounding areas, it further said.

The release said a special cell has been opened to monitor the situation in Manipur to protect the interests of Telangana people in that State.

“Government of Telangana has decided to immediately airlift the Telangana students from Imphal to Hyderabad. For this purpose a special flight has been arranged from Imphal to Hyderabad on 07-05-2023 forenoon,” it said.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday said that all students from the state, who are stranded in violence-hit Manipur, will be brought back by two special flights.

The announcement came hours after the chief minister held a meeting with the parents of the students stuck in the trouble-torn state.

“The first flight with 37 students studying at Central Agriculture University in Imphal is expected to reach Guwahati on Saturday night, and they will return to Tripura on Sunday,” Saha said, addressing a press conference at the Civil Secretariat.

The students who are studying at the Regional Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) will be boarding an Imphal-Agartala flight at 12.15 am on Sunday, he said.

As many as 208 students of the state, who are stuck in violence-hit Manipur, are scheduled to return home, he said, adding that the figure may rise.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said efforts are underway to evacuate people of the state stranded in violence-hit Manipur.

“Deeply anguished by the kind of messages and SOS we are receiving from Manipur. I am concerned about the safety of the people of Manipur and others hailing from different parts of the country, now stranded there,” she tweeted.

“Govt of Bengal is committed to stand by the people and has decided to make every effort to evacuate people stranded there in coordination with the government of Manipur. The chief secretary has been directed to monitor the entire process, to help people in distress and despair. We are with the people at all times. Urge everyone to maintain peace,” she added.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has asked the chief secretary to talk to his counterpart in violence-hit Manipur to provide adequate security to people from the state living there.

He also asked the chief secretary to make arrangements for the safe return of those who are willing to come back to their native places in the eastern state.

“The chief minister has asked chief secretary Amir Subhani to speak to his counterpart in Manipur so that adequate security can be provided to the people from Bihar living there, following the violence in the north-eastern state,” a statement issued by the CMO said on Friday.

Kumar is concerned over the safety and security of Bihar natives living in Manipur, it said.

“He has also asked the chief secretary to make arrangements for the safe return of those (from Bihar) who want to come back to their native places,” the statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said.

On Sunday, Nagaland government and the Assam Rifles evacuated over 600 persons from Imphal and brought them to Kohima.