E-Paper
Kashmiri students stranded in and around Chandigarh await evacuation amid lockdown
Hundreds of Kashmiri students who are stuck in tricity are awaiting help from the Jammu and Kashmir administration two days after more than 300 students of Jammu and Kashmir were taken home from Kota
After being treated for ruptured appendix for eight days in Government Multispecialty Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh, 22-year-old Sahil Rashid, who hails from Pattan in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, desperately waiting to return home amid the Covid-19 lockdown.
Rashid is not the only one. Hundreds of Kashmiri students who are stuck in tricity are awaiting help from the Jammu and Kashmir administration two days after more than 300 students of Jammu and Kashmir were taken home from Kota.
Rashid, a BTech student at a private college in Mohali, said, “I was discharged from hospital, but still I cannot walk. We have tried to arrange for a pass from the administration but to no avail. The Jammu and Kashmir administration is also not giving us any assurance about our return. We have been left in the lurch.”
While around 6,000 Kashmiri students study in three universities and 26 educational institutes of Mohali district, about 300 are enrolled in Panjab University and its affiliated colleges in Chandigarh.
Aitzaz Ehsaaan, a research scholar at Panjab University, who hails from Srinagar, said, “We do not know when the lockdown will be lifted. Some students are also facing financial crunch.”
Nadeem Chaudhary, who is a member of National Students Union of India (NSUI), Punjab Unit, said, “We have prepared a list of more than 300 students in Mohali, who are from Jammu and Kashmir. The number will increase as we are preparing another list of stranded students.”
Nasir Khuehami of Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA), said, “Students are helplessly waiting for the being deported to their homes. I have spoken to Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and he is ready to facilitate the travel after Jammu and Kashmir administration takes a step.”
Mohali additional district commissioner (ADC), Ashika Jain, said, “We are helping out the Kashmiri students in Mohali. We can facilitate their travel back to the valley once the J&K administration takes a step.”
Inderjot Singh, manager of J&K House in Chandigarh and liaison officer for J&K students in the region, said, “We are evacuating the J&K residents in a phased manner. We have been evacuating labourers first as they are in dire situation. In coming days, students will also be evacuated.”
