Students from Jammu and Kashmir, evacuated from war-torn Iran, thanked the Centre but criticised the J-K government for the poor-quality buses used to transport them from Delhi to their hometowns.
“We are tired after such a long journey. The central government and the Indian embassy did such a good job that we didn’t feel any problem – it wasn’t like we were being evacuated, as everything was so smooth,” a student told ANI.
“We hadn’t felt we would have any issue as we were to go home, and the state government would take care of it further. But, the buses being provided are in such a bad condition. 2 hours back, CM Omar Abdullah tweeted about this, but nothing has happened yet,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s office informed that he had taken note of the request of the students evacuated from Iran regarding the quality of buses arranged to transport them from Delhi to J-K.
“The Chief Minister has taken note of the request of the students evacuated from Iran regarding the quality of buses arranged to transport them from Delhi to J&K. The Resident Commissioner has been tasked with coordinating with the JKRTC to ensure proper deluxe buses are arranged,” the chief minister’s office said in a post on X.
Students who have been evacuated under Operation Sindhu from conflict-affected Iran raised issues about the buses that the J&K government is providing for them to travel to their home state.
“The buses that have been provided are in such bad condition that even animals will not travel in them. We can’t go in such buses, and our safety could have been compromised. We are here (in Delhi) and for that we are thankful to the central government as they have evacuated us smoothly, we faced no problem till here, but we are having a problem here now,” a student told ANI.
The Indian government has launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran, given the deteriorating situation as a result of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel.
An Indian student, Sheikh Afsa, on board the flight carrying 110 nationals under Operation Sindhu, praised the government’s efforts to ensure a safe evacuation upon returning to Delhi, saying that the government evacuated them ‘from their doors’.
“We are happy to return here, but we are also worried about our studies. The situation there (Iran) is bad, and people are scared. We even received calls from people in Iran, who said the situation in Iran is very critical. The (Indian) government evacuated us from our dormitory, from our doors; we didn’t even expect this much. They helped us at every step; no one faced any problem, and we are grateful to the central government for the role they played in evacuating us,” she told ANI. (ANI)
