Indians in the United Kingdom are deeply concerned about their stay there and are desperately waiting for immediate return to the homeland.
As the latest reports say, thousands of Indian students there are deeply concerned about their position there, which they literally call ‘unsafe’.
“We want to come back to India because the UK government is not taking any serious action and we don’t have money for accommodation and food. And in the coming days, situation in UK is going to be like Italy,” said an Indian student.
“If UK goes under a lockdown, we won’t be able to go to India after March 31. Please help us we want to come back to our country,” he adds.
Many students are arriving at various UK airports demanding the officials to send them back.
A group of students from the Gatwick airport even headed to the Indian High Commissioner’s office demanding for their early exit from UK.
After hosting them in the Office premises for two days, the Commission moved them to hotels with all necessary food and accommodation services.
Meanwhile, Indian National Students Association stepped forward to offer guidance and needed support to the Indian students in UK.
“We are getting queries linked to health, travel and accommodation and even loneliness. We are asking them to stay calm and not panic, pointing them to genuine sources of information too as currently a lot of misinformation is out there,” Amit Tiwari, president of Indian Nationals Student Association (INSA) said in a statement.
Despite India’s suspension of all international flights until March 31, several students headed to the UK airports with their last-minute tickets and were eventually stranded.
“There are around 200-300 students stuck in London. We had our flight on March 21 from Heathrow airport in London. But according to Emirates, the Indian government has changed the rules at the last moment. So, we asked them (airlines) if they received the letter from Indian government then why were they selling tickets. We have written to Emirates asking for a clarification,” says a student.
“We hope that the government will let flights into India soon as majority of our queries are related to when can the students return back to their families in India. There is also a fear factor in UK and a perception that currently India is a safer place to be due to lower number of fatalities,” says INSA president.
The High Commissioner appealed to all Indians to stay calm and follow the advisory issued by NHS to address the challenge of Covid-19.
“Let us remain prepared to fight the challenge and not panic. Please avoid non-essential travel. At the moment, flights to India stand temporarily suspended till 31st March. High Commission remains in touch with the Indian authorities concerned. We will keep you all updated about the resumption of flights. Please stay connected with us on social media for updates,” a letter from the High Commissioner read.
While most students are planning to book their tickets for April 01, 2020, the HC says, “It is advised that people should first wait for clarity on the lifting of travel ban by the Indian authorities before booking any tickets.”
Stay tuned to Indianera.com for more updates about COVID-19 and other news updates about India!
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