Government too busy with Trump visit to arrange for their return Indians languish on virus vessel
Relatives of security officer Sonali Thakkar, who has been quarantined aboard the cruise liner Diamond Princess for the last 15 days, and members of the Thakkar community visited New Delhi to meet government officials and seek their help in facilitating her return to India.
However, Dinesh Thakkar, Sonali’s father, said they were told the government, preoccupied with arrangements for the visit of US President Donald Trump, has not taken steps to bring back the Indian crew on board the ship, some of whom have tested positive for coronavirus.
Thakkar, a resident of Mira Road, had pleaded with the central government that if people, who have tested negative for the deadly virus, continued to remain on the ship for a long time, they too could get infected.
Last week on Saturday, Dinesh had appealed to PM Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to arrange for his daughter to fly back home as she had tested negative for coronavirus. “Since I had tweeted we were waiting for a response from the government, but some of my relatives decided to go to Delhi and meet higher government authorities. It was learnt that all the government officers were busy making arrangements for the upcoming visit of Trump and so they were unavailable for a meeting,” he said.
Sonali’s father said his daughter had been communicating with him daily, through video calls and messages. “My daughter sent me a video on Wednesday, in which she appealed to the government to take action immediately,” he said.
Currently housed in a tiny, windowless cabin, Sonali is clearly distressed. In an interview to media, Sonali asked, "What is the Indian government waiting for? Why are we not being taken off the ship, away from the deadly virus that has infected 454 people already? The US evacuated most of its citizens on Monday. Australia, Italy, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan are also talking to the Japan government about evacuation.
“When the ship was put into quarantine on February 3 at Yokohoma, there were 3,700 plus people on board. 454 have tested positive for coronavirus since then. Among them, 6 of the 132 Indian crew members on board have tested positive. Yesterday (February 17), the Indian embassy in Tokyo sent a mail to the remaining 126 crew members, asking if they wanted to get off the ship and take a chartered flight back to India, even if it meant another 14 days of quarantine after they have landed.
At least get us off the ship where the fear of the virus getting to you is very real,” Sonali said, in a video she had shared.