Bhubaneswar: As many as 65 cadets of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) from Berhampur unit in Odisha have been stranded for over a week in Guwahati of Assam due to ongoing protests over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Reportedly, the cadets left Berhampur on December 9 to participate in the week-long North Eastern Region trekking camp in Shillong of Meghalaya and reached Guwahati on December 11. However, they could not proceed to the trekking camp in Shillong after curfew was imposed in Guwahati.
Amid the raging protest, the cadets were initially kept in the Guwahati Army camp due to security reasons. Four days after that, they were sent to a pre-RDC camp in Guwahati.
Chief operating officer of 2(O) Battalion NCC, Berhampur Gopal Krusha Mishra, who has accompanied the cadets in the camp, reportedly contacted the NCC CEO to apprise him about the prevailing situation in Assam.
Though the cadets had booked tickets and were scheduled to reach Odisha yesterday, they could not board the train as all Odisha-bound trains from Guwahati remained cancelled.
“We reached Guwahati on December 11 on way to participate in the NCC camp being held from December 11 to 18 in Shillong of Meghalaya. The train reached three and half hour late, and by then the curfew was already imposed in Guwahati and people were protesting by burning tyres,” Mishra said.
“As we could not proceed to Shillong, we contacted Berhampur NCC authorities. Following a discussion, we were shifted to a army transit camp in Guwahati,” Mishra said.
“We stayed in the army transit camp from December 11 to 14. On December 15, we were shifted to a pre-RDC camp in Narangi army cantonment area which is 15 km away from the transit camp. Now we are at the camp safely. However, we could not go to the trekking camp in Shillong,” he added.
Meanwhile, efforts are on by Berhampur NCC officials to bring the cadets back. The officials are planning to arrange a special train to bring back the cadets.