‘Govt. to bring back students stuck in Kuala Lumpur’

Students from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana were asked to leave the Philippines

18/03/2020

The Indian government is planning to bring back 343 Indian students stranded in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Delhi and Visakhapatnam in two Air Asia flights, an official at the Ministry of External Affairs, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said.

The flights might take off on Wednesday, the official added.

The students are stranded in Kuala Lumpur in the wake of the Indian government’s decision to impose a temporary ban on international arrivals from several countries, including Malaysia, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several students hailing from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, who spoke to The Hindu on Tuesday evening, said they had been asked to leave Manila in the Philippines as the number of COVID-19 cases had been steadily increasing there.

Harshina, who hails from Anantapur and is studying medicine in Manila, is among the 343 students trying to get on to a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai. “We landed in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday and were scheduled to leave for Chennai by a 9 p.m. flight,” Ms. Harshina said. The students have been sending video messages asking the Indian government to allow them to return to the country.