COVID-19: J&K chief secretary writes to foreign secy for evacuation of residents from Oman, Dubai, Iran

Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday approached the Centre with the request to bring back the Union Territory (UT) residents stranded in Oman, Dubai and Iran under its ‘Vande Bharat Mission’.

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In a communication to Union Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, J&K, Chief Secretary, B V R Subrahmanyam sought his personal intervention in prioritising the evacuation of the stranded UT residents.

“The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has received requests from its residents stranded in Oman, Dubai and Iran for their early evacuation. Their prolonged stay abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic has made them restless and fearful of catching the disease in a foreign country,” the letter reads.

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In the letter Subrahmanyam said as part of the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, students of Jammu and Kashmir stranded in Bangladesh are being evacuated to Srinagar.In the letter Subrahmanyam said as part of the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, students of Jammu and Kashmir stranded in Bangladesh are being evacuated to Srinagar. “This step has been greatly appreciated by the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.

Last week the J&K government had sought early return of all the students of the UT studying in Bangladesh under ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ launched by the government of India to facilitate the return of the Indian citizens stranded abroad amid COVID- 19 pandemic.