JOIN US275 Kashmiri students struck in Rajasthan despite completing 14-day quarantine
At least 275 Kashmir students, including females, who were evacuated from Iran and quarantined at an army facility in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan almost a month ago, have not been allowed to go back to their homes raising concern among their families.
The families of these students have threatened to hit the streets if the government continues its “dilly-dallying” approach to bring them back to Kashmir. These students were brought back in Air India flights from Iran March 10 to 16 and were quarantined at the Army Wellness Centre in Jaisalmer.
Though they have completed a mandatory 14-day quarantine and tested negative for COVID-19, the authorities have been unable to bring them back to their homes. The parents of these students met Divisional Commissioner Kashmir P K Pole but were annoyed by his response.
“The administration is using dilly-dally tactics. We are running out of patience. All the reports of our children have come as negative but despite passing almost a month, they continue to remain in the army's quarantine centre without any logic,” they complained.
One of the parent Shabir Hussain, whose daughter is at Jaisalmer army facility, alleged that after taking up the issue with the divisional commissioner, they were annoyed to see the “cold response of the administration?”
“If this dilly-dallying continues over our children, we will be left with no option other than to hit the streets. Our demand is that our children should be airlifted back to Srinagar without any further delay,” he demanded.
Another parent said despite his daughter being in an army facility for a month, there is no word from the authorities neither in New Delhi nor in J&K, as to when she would be brought back.
A senior official in Srinagar said they were trying their best to bring these students back. “But due to the nationwide lockdown, it is becoming almost impossible to do so. We have taken up the issue with higher authorities and hope that some solution arrives soon,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that the demand for evacuation of Kashmiri students stranded in Iran had prompted Minister for External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker to fly to Srinagar to meet their parents on March 9.