On Friday morning, India’s national carrier, Air India, in coordination with the Indian Embassy, rescued 167 Indian Medical Students stranded in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using a special flight to Srinagar.
In a video testimony, one such student named Hadiya Rasheed has thanked the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and expressed her gratitude for being able to reach her home safely. She also mentioned that the Indian Embassy has been in touch with them throughout the time they were stuck in Dhaka.
Another student thanked the Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, for evacuating him and others, amidst the humanitarian crisis caused due to the outbreak of the Wuhan Coronavirus. Another medical student informed that 15 people from her college were returning home to Srinagar from Dhaka on the same flight. She also heaped praise on the arrangements made at the airport by the Indian embassy to ensure a hassle-free journey.
Kashmiri students stranded in Bangladesh thank Indian Govt, EAM @DrSJaishankar & Indian High Commission in Dhaka for rescuing them amidst #COVID19 pandemic. First repatriation flight leaves for Srinagar from Dhaka at 11am today. 167 Indian Medical Students return home to Kashmir. pic.twitter.com/3PVI7e5ARi
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) May 8, 2020
India’s Massive Evacuation Plan
Earlier, Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri had said that 64 flights will be operated in the first week of operation to bring Indians from different countries from May 7 to May 13. The Ministry of External Affairs has prepared a chart for the evacuation of 14,800 Indian nationals who are stranded in 12 foreign countries by 64 flights in the first week of operation. They will have to pay for the cost of the flights, and it will not be a free evacuation.
