Coronavirus effects: Plea in HC for evacuation of students stranded in Bangladesh
New Delhi: A plea was moved in the Delhi High Court on Thursday seeking direction to the Centre to evacuate around 580 Indian medical students stranded in Bangladesh due to coronavirus pandemic.
The plea sought direction to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to forthwith take steps for safe and secure return on Indian citizens who are stuck in Bangladesh.
Most of the students are residents of Jammu and Kashmir, petitioner-advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal said, adding that the plea was mentioned before the registrar over telephone and it has been listed for hearing on Friday.
Bansal said he has been receiving numerous calls from the Indian students who are studying in Bangladesh and stuck in their hostels without masks, sanitisers and enough food.
“As there is complete lockdown now so we would not even get any supplies. You have also closed doors for us. Please help us reach back home. Even if we die, we would like to die in front of out parents,” a student wrote in an e-mail sent to Bansal.
The plea has sought direction to the authorities to appoint nodal officers in Indian Embassies and make their contact numbers and e-mails public so that Indians who are stranded abroad can contact them and seek help in the time of the global health emergency.
The MEA be directed to formulate guidelines for time bound action by the nodal officers so that Indians feel safe during this time, it said.
The students told the lawyers that their mess is closed and they have been left with few snacks which may last only for a week and there are no facilities by which they can prevent them from getting infected. (PTI)
Press Trust of India
