NEW DELHI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- "Stay Strong, China!" shouted Himadrish Suwan, a youth leader from the podium. "We are with you," responded the students in unison.

The slogans reverberated inside brightly lit jam-packed auditorium of Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS) at Faridabad in the northern Indian state of Haryana.

Hundreds of students gathered inside their university on Monday to express their solidarity with people in neighboring China, who are fighting the deadly novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The young students sang an emotional musical prayer, seeking peace for those who lost their lives because of the novel coronavirus and speeding recovery of those suffering from the epidemic.

"We are here to extend support to our brothers and sisters who have suffered because of the novel coronavirus," said Suwan, chairman Confederation of Young Leaders (CYL). "I salute thousands of nurses and doctors in China who are on the forefront in the fight to contain the outbreak."

Suwan, who is also an advisor to Confederation of Indian Universities, said the great efforts of the Chinese government in containing the outbreak prevented people in other countries from the deadly disease.

"The government of China did a wonderful job in controlling the disease at the epicentre," he said. "China cordoned off the area for the betterment of the whole world, otherwise it would have become widespread and caused massive damage to the citizenry of the world."

The meeting started with a two-minute silence in the memory of people who lost their lives in China because of the COVID-19 outbreak. A traditional oil lamp was lighted in the middle of the hall to mark the beginning of proceedings.

The students also sang a song titled "Together with You" aimed at lifting the spirits of people in Wuhan and in the rest of China.

"We are together like a family. I want to tell people in China that we stand with you and stay strong," said Jaspreet Singh, a student.

"We are hopeful that China would soon come out of this difficult situation," said N C Wadhwa, Director General of MRIIRS. "China is considered to be the factory of the world and we are dependent on it for a lot of things. We have assembled here to emotionally attach with our neighboring country China."

The assembly is a part of many such events going on in different parts of the world, where people express their solidarity with China in fighting COVID-19.

"This is a unique gesture from the youth of India to their counterparts in China," said Vijay Nambiar, former Indian ambassador to China.

During the meeting, a message from the UN Secretary General's envoy on youth to Chinese youth was read out.

India reported three cases of COVID-19 from its southern Indian state of Kerala. However, the patients were kept in quarantine and later discharged from the hospital after showing signs of improvement.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the COVID-19 epidemic affecting 25 countries as an International Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

India's federal health ministry launched a 24x7 helpline to provide support to people regarding queries on COVID-19. Health teams have been deployed at 21 airports, seaports and border crossings across the country to screen the visitors.

The Health Ministry is also circulating the precautionary measures recommended by the WHO for the prevention of novel coronavirus in India.■