Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
Scores of citizens have been stranded in different parts of the country due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The case for Kashmiri students in Bhopal is similar. Close to 200 Kashmiri students have been stranded in Madhya Pradesh’s capital city. With no way out, they appeal to the government to take them back home.
With no money and no ration, the students have been “suffering since the lockdown started.”
“Food items that we would previously buy for Rs 50, are now being sold for Rs 150. Natives of Kashmir are always looked at with suspicion wherever they go. We have to face difficulties everywhere.”Ishtaf Mir, Employee, LBS Hospital
“Whenever we go out, cops look at us with suspicion. We haven’t received cooking gas for three to four days now. So we were outside (searching for food). You are more susceptible to the disease if you are outside. In Bhopal, shops can open only on Mondays. So if someone runs out of supplies, they can’t go outside to buy. We don’t even have relatives here who we can ask for food. There’s no government helpline either where we can call for essentials.”Mohammad Umar Ratra, Student
Among other troubles, there is a constant fear of police along with mental health issues that the lockdown has caused.
“We have a few students who have gone into depression... We can’t go to the hospital because the police interrogate us and so we are scared.”A student
Some of the students have also alleged that no government authority has helped them yet, and the “SDM’s office kept dodging the issue” whenever they visited him.
“Since the lockdown started we were told that we will be evacuated. We are requesting the central government to evacuate us so that we can go home. But the situation is getting worse by the day. So we requested the government here to evacuate us as soon as possible because Bhopal’s condition is getting worse.”Mohammad Umar Ratra, Student
Helpless, they have turned to the media to vocalise their woes in the hope of getting help.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has written a letter to the Union Home Minister urging him to facilitate the students’ return.
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