Over 500 stranded Kashmiris appeal for direct flights to Srinagar
I lost everything I had invested in the business. I came back here in January 2020, hoping to find another job and make all the money I lost.”
Muhammad Kifayatul
dubai — Over 500 Kashmiris in the UAE are appealing to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and diplomatic missions in the UAE to arrange direct or connecting flights to Srinagar. At present, Kashmiris have to fly to either New Delhi or Amritsar for the mandatory 14-day institutional quarantine.
A community representative said the group consists of pregnant women, elderly persons and people who have suffered job losses and cannot afford to pay for their quarantine facilities in Delhi or Amritsar.
The community of stranded Kashmiris in the UAE have formed a group on WhatsApp where nearly 510 individuals and families from across the UAE are part of.
Upon registration on the mission’s website, many have received replies from the consulate asking them to fly to Delhi or Amritsar.
However, pregnant women and aged individuals say they are not confident about the quarantine facilities in these cities.
In an earlier interview with Khaleej Times, Consul-General of India Vipul said plans are afoot to add more flights in the next phase of Indian repatriation.
A.J. (name withheld at request), 35-year-old school teacher, said she arrived in the UAE on February 6 to stay with her husband and find a job. “I got married recently.
I was job hunting and hoping things would get better soon, but matters took a terrible turn when my husband lost his job,” said A.J. She conceived early March and has spent a big chunk of her savings on hospital bills. “Last Saturday, our landlord evicted us from our apartment as well,” she said. The couple is now living in their friend’s house.
Muhammad Kifayatullah Mir, 34, has been a Dubai resident for nine years. “In 2018, I set up a garments business in Bandipore, Srinagar. Because of the ongoing political turmoil in Kashmir, I lost everything I had invested in the business. I came back here in January 2020, hoping to find another job and make all the money I lost.”
Unfortunately, many of the opportunities he was banking on went to waste as companies have frozen hiring in many sectors. “I want to go back now and I’m ready for quarantine.”