A group of 14 Kashmiri students who were put under quarantine in Amritsar after their arrival from Pakistan have been allowed to travel to Kashmir.
The students had reached Udhampur when this report was beingfiled. The students said they were allowed to travel to Kashmir after Punjabgovernment pleaded their case with the J&K administration.
“Earlier, JK administration did not allow us to travel toKashmir and asked the Punjab government to put us under quarantine,” a studentsaid.
The students said they were provided transport facilities byPunjab government upto Lakhanpur and from there the arrangement of transportwas done by the J&K administration.
The student have tested negative COVID-19 after completingthe quarantine period.
Deputy commissioner Srinagar, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, saidthe group will be allowed to join their families.
“They have completed the quarantine period and have got themedical certificates along. So there is no problem, they will go for homequarantine,” he said.
Hundreds of J&K residents, including students, patientsand traders are stranded in many states outside due to the ongoing lockdownacross India. The stranded students and other families are demanding for theirevacuation to Kashmir but there has been no respite for them till date.
Around 500 Kashmiri students are stranded in Bangladesh.Around 50 students who were evacuated from Iran are stranded at Jaisalmerdespite completing their quarantine period two weeks ago.
“The students from Jaisalmer were supposed to travel today(Thursday) but there are some new guidelines which are being worked out.Everything was lined up and scheduled but the travel got delayed,” DeputyCommissioner Srinagar said.
The Greater Kashmir received distress calls and emails fromstudents and families stranded outside J&K.
The families which include patients and their attendants arestranded in Delhi, Chandigarh, Gurugram, Mumbai and other places. “The patientshave been discharged from hospital after completing the treatment or surgeryand are staying in rented accommodation paying huge rentals. We are facingtremendous hardships and mental agony,” said Ghulam Qadir, whose family isstranded in Delhi.
The stranded families urged the J&K administration toget them evacuated to Kashmir. “We have already registered our grievances withthe resident commissioner New Delhi and want to go home,” he said.
Another resident of Srinagar who was recently dischargedfrom hospital in Delhi has got stranded due to lockdown.
“I am a mason by profession, had come to New Delhi for heartsurgery and my surgery was done on March 13. Hospital discharged me on 15th butI had to stay here for weekly checkups,” he said. He said the tickets werebooked for April 3 which got cancelled due to suspension of flights.
“I am with my wife in a rented flat paying around 12000 permonth at Okhla Zakir Nagar. I am running short of money and want to go home.Please help us,” he said.