Thiruvananthapuram: In the light of ongoing unrest at the border, Opposition Leader VD Satheesan has spoken to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan regarding the urgent repatriation of Malayali students stranded in Kashmir and Punjab. The Chief Minister assured the Opposition Leader that immediate steps would be taken.

Satheesan spoke with some of the students over phone yesterday and today. Preliminary reports suggest that around 240 Malayali students are currently stranded in the Kashmir and Punjab regions. The students told him that the situation had worsened by last night and that they were living in fear. They also informed him that other state governments had already begun evacuating their students. It was in this context that the Opposition Leader contacted the Chief Minister.