Srinagar: A special direct flight will operation between Dubai and Srinagar on May 22 to bring back J&K residents, who are stranded in UAE from last over two months due to lockdown to curtail spread of COVID-19.
However, J&K residents, stranded in UAE, claimed that one flight was not enough as there were more than 1000 people from the Union Territory struck there and sought more flights so that all of them can come back home.
As per the schedule for the second phase of the “Vande Bharat Mission” released by the Union Aviation Ministry on Saturday, a direct flight will operation between Dubai and Srinagar to bring back J&K residents stranded in UAE. The flight is among 40 Air India flights which will operate between May 18 and June 5 to bring back Indian residents stranded in different countries.
The announcement has brought cheer as well as anxiety to over 1000 Kashmiris stranded in UAE since March 25, when centre suspended international flights amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Srinagar international airport has geared up to resume domestic and international flights amid COVID-19 lockdown. “We have received the schedule for the special flight from Dubai on May 22,” an Airport official said.
He said the number of returnees will depend on the type of aircraft, which will ferry the stranded people.
The announcement of the direct flight from Dubai to Srinagar on a day when Jammu and Kashmir administration urged Government of India (GOI) to evacuate the Union Territory residents, stranded in different Gulf countries, including UAE and Oman, besides Iran amid lockdown to curtail spread of COVID-19.
Chief Secretary J&K BVR Subrahmanyam in a letter to Foreign Secretary, GOI, sought his personal intervention in prioritizing the evacuation of J&K residents in view of restlessness among the stranded people and Eid-ul-Fitr on May 25.
The letter by the Chief Secretary had come in view of no arrangements being made for Kashmiris stranded in UAE as Srinagar International Airport doesn’t feature in the list of airports provided by the centre from where people can choose their destination in India.
A group of people from Jammu and Kashmir told UNI over phone from Sharjah said that they are both happy and tense following announcement of a single flight to Srinagar. “We are excited that finally a flight has been arranged for stranded J&K residents. But, at the same time we scared and praying that our name is shortlisted for that flight,” Zahir-ul-Islam, who is travelling alongwith five other family members, said.
He said not even a single J&K resident was evacuated from UAE in the first phase of ‘Vande Bharat Mission’. “More flights should have been arranged to take all J&K residents from UAE to back home,” he said.
He said there are over 1000 Kashmiris stranded in UAE, but none of them have been evacuated so far.
Similarly, there are about 200 J&K residents stranded in Muscat (Oman).
UNI ABS
