Lucknow, April 22: The nationwide lockdown announced to contain coronavirus transmission has spelled into horror for a section of the country, particularly those in the lower portion of the economic strata. In another heart-wrenching case, a group of four students were reported to have embarked upon a 500 km foot-journey from Bareilly to Varanasi. 12-Year-Old Girl Dies After Travelling For 150 Km on Foot From Telangana to Chhattisgarh.

By the reports had emerged, they had completed nearly 250 km of journey by walking and hitchhiking. They were confirmed have reached Lucknow - the state capital - which marks the completion of halfway of their journey. The students belong to economically weaker families in Varanasi, and were staying as paid guests at an accomodation in Bareilly.

In Bareilly, they were enrolled at the Rohilkhand University. Since the announcement of lockdown, the varsity suspended its classes. While the students continued their stay in the town during the first phase of lockdown, they decided to return home after Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended the restrictions till May 3.

Golu Mishra, one of the students, told NDTV that they were on the verge of exhausting all the money they had. Cash-crunched, the students feared of starving in the next few days. They then decided to move back towards their villages by embarking upon a foot-journey.

"I come from a family of daily wagers. With great difficulty they have sent me to university. They will send more money when they will earn but money has dried up for them too," Mishra was reported as saying.

The case of UP students walking back to their native place comes a couple of days after a 12-year-old girl died enroute her village in Chhattisgarh after walking for 150 km. Last month, a 38-year-old man in Delhi who began walking towards his village in Madhya Pradesh died due to heat stroke after completing a journey f 200 km on foot.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 22, 2020 04:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).