Students in Kyrgyzstan seek govt. help to return home

Students in Kyrgyzstan seek govt. help to return home

Over 650 students have been facing issues relating to health, lodging and food

10/07/2020

Over 650 medical students from Tamil Nadu, stranded in Kyrgyzstan, have appealed to the Indian Embassy in Bishkek to help them return home.

The students, pursuing medicine at various universities there, said that they were asked to remain in their hostels in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and were facing issues with respect to their health, lodging and food over the last few months.

M. Giridharan, a first-year MBBS student hailing from Villupuram, said that the students had submitted petitions and e-mails to the Indian Embassy in Bishkek, seeking repatriation flights to be arranged to Tiruchi or Chennai. “After months of struggle, the third phase of the Vande Bharat Mission included two flights to Tamil Nadu,” he said.

A total of 324 students have reached Tamil Nadu between July 2 and 4. However, many students from central and southern Tamil Nadu, including Tiruchi, Madurai and Ramanathapuram, are still stranded, he told The Hindu.

The students circulated a spreadsheet among their contacts and found that there were as many as 641 Tamil students at various universities across cities in Kyrgyzstan. “COVID-19 cases are gradually increasing here and we are in a lockdown. We have been asked to remain in our hostel rooms, but food supplies and lodging facilities have taken a hit,” said Mr. Giridharan.

No response

While students from other States are being evacuated, the Tamil Nadu government is yet to respond to the pleas, Mr. Giridharan said. “We are not able to go out and purchase what we require on a daily basis. COVID-19 cases are increasing and there are no good medical facilities,” he said. T. Manikandan, a second-year MBBS student at Jalal-Abad State University, said that while they were trying to return home, their parents were worried sick. “We continue to tell them that we will be back soon, but even we are clueless,” he said.

Some universities, like Mr. Manikandan’s, have begun online classes. “We can attend these classes from home as well, so we request the government to arrange flights to Tiruchi, if services to Chennai are not possible,”