Jammu and Kashmir administration has urged Government of India (GOI) to evacuate the Union Territory residents, stranded in different Gulf countries, including UAE and Oman, besides Iran amid lockdown to curtail spread of COVID-19.
Chief Secretary J&K BVR Subrahmanyam in a letter to Foreign Secretary, GOI, sought his personal intervention in prioritizing the evacuation of J&K residents in view of restlessness among the stranded people and Eid-ul-Fitr on May 25.
The letter by the Chief Secretary comes in view of no arrangements being made for Kashmiris stranded in UAE as Srinagar International Airport doesn’t feature in the list of airports provided by the centre from where people can choose their destination in India.
“The government of J&K has received requests from its residents stranded in Oman, Dubai and Iran for early evacuation. Their prolonged stay abroad during the COVID-19 pandamic has made them restless and fearful of catching the disease in a foreign country,” read the letter.
“They (stranded residents) are also desirous of celebrating ‘Eid’ festival, which is, approaching on May 25 in Jammu and Kashmir,” it said.
“I would, therefore, request you personal intervention in prioritizing the evacuation of residents of J&K stranded in Oman, Dubai and Iran,” it added.
Mr Subrahmanyam further in the letter said that as part of the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, students of J&K stranded in Bangladesh are being evacuated to Sriagar. “This step has been greatly appreciated by the people of J&K,” he added.
Meanwhile, a group of people from Jammu and Kashmir told UNI over phone from Sharjah said that not even a single J&K resident has been evacuated from UAE in the first phase of ‘Vande Bharat Mission’. “In the second phase as well, no one from Kashmir has been contacted by Air India despite selection by the embassy,” said Zahir-ul-Islam, who is travelling alongwith five other family members.
He said there are over 900 Kashmiris stranded in UAE, but none of them have been evacuated so far. “We demand that direct flights should be operated from UAE to Srinagar,” he added.
Similarly, there are about 200 J&K residents stranded in Muscat (Oman).