Sharad Pawar urges EAM S Jaishankar to evacuate Indian students stranded in Philippines

NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on Wednesday urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to help evacuate several Indian students stranded in the Philippines due to the government's travel restrictions imposed amidst the Coronavirus outbreak. Taking to Twitter, Pawar posted a series of videos of the students stranded in the Philippines highlighting their conditions. In the videos, the Indian students elaborated on the condition there and stated that it is getting worse as they are unable to get food too. 

The NCP chief highlighted that some of the students do not have their passports and valid Alien Certificate of Registration with them, as their Passports were in Visa processing with the Bureau of Immigration in the Philippines. "I humbly request the Indian government to allow these students to fly back to India and make sure that the Indian Embassy acquires their passports and ACR ID cards from the Bureau," wrote Pawar in his tweet. 

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On March 11, the government suspended all tourist visas until April 15 and said it would quarantine travelers arriving from seven virus-hit countries as it attempts to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Govt rescues 218 Indian citizens from Italy

In the wake of Coronavirus concerns, a special Air India flight carrying 218 Indian citizens including 211 students who were stranded in Italy, arrived in India on Sunday. As per reports, the flight also had seven compassionate cases. 

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Post their landing in Delhi, the batch of 218 evacuees from Milan were shifted to Indo-Tibetan Border Police's Chhawla isolation camp for 14 days. "All the 218 evacuees from Milan are being taken to our quarantine facility in southwest Delhi's Chhawla area. They will be there for over a fortnight as per quarantine procedures," an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) spokesperson said.

Coronavirus crisis

As of date, the total number of positive cases in India has soared up to 152. The maximum cases of the virus have been reported in Maharashtra and Kerala. Along with it, two deaths have been reported in Kalaburagi and West Delhi respectively. India has suspended all visas, barring for a few categories such as diplomatic and employment apart from keeping in abeyance the visa-free travel facility to OCI cardholders till April 15.

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