Over 200 M’sians stuck in India
PETALING JAYA: Over 200 Malaysians are stranded in India following the country’s ban on all flights to and from Malaysia last week to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.
The affected Malaysians, who had left for India over the past three weeks for a pilgrimage, leisure and other purposes, claim that the travel restriction has caused them hardship in India as they are running out of funds and are unable to sustain the extended stay.
B. Vikneswaran, 37, who is among those stranded in Trichy, said all outbound flights have been restricted by India since Saturday, leaving at least 100 people in the lurch in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The offshore oil and gas vessel captain said he had arrived in India last week with his wife, just two days before India closed its borders to two-way travel on March 13.
“Malaysians who were to leave on Saturday were told that their flight was moved to the next day.
“Then another batch was given the same response on Sunday and some 100 people are now stranded.
“The blame game is ongoing with the Indian, Malaysian and airline authorities pointing fingers at each other for the predicament. The Malaysian consulate in Chennai has also not been very helpful to our plight.
“We just want to go home and are prepared to face the two-week self-quarantine that will be imposed in Malaysia. There are elderly folk and children here.
“We are running out of cash and the hotels here are not keen on admitting Malaysians. There are babies who are running out of special milk formula that is not available in India,” said Vikneswaran, who reached out to theSun yesterday.
MIC president Tan Sri S. Vigneswaran, when contacted yesterday, said he is aware of the situation and efforts to ensure the return of the stranded Malaysians are underway.
He said the affected travellers had gone to India on several local and foreign airlines.
“We do not have the exact numbers yet but we believe there are over 200 of them scattered in several states in India. They are in Chennai, Trichy, Amritsar, Bangalore and others.
“We are aware of their predicament and are working with the Malaysian Consulate in Chennai to gather all of them at a single location before flying them back to Malaysia. We hope to get this done in a day or two,” he said.
Vigneswaran’s deputy Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, who is also Human Resources minister, has arranged for lodging and other essentials for the stranded passengers.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said discussions between the Malaysian and Indian government are ongoing to facilitate the return of the stranded Malaysians.