JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir government has sought early return of all the students of Jammu and Kashmir studying in neigbouring country of Bangladesh under ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ launched by the government of India to facilitate the return of the Indians stranded abroad amid Covid- 19 pandemic .

The first batch of 168 students of J&K studying in Bangladesh has been airlifted to Srinagar International Airport on May 8, 2020.

As per the figures with the government, 230-240 students are still stranded in Bangladesh.

In this regard, Chief Secretary J&K, B V R Subrahmanyam has written to Foreign Secretary, Government of India, Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

“Their early return attains significance in view of the ongoing holy month of Ramadhan and the approaching Eid festival falling on May 25, 2020,” the CS has written to the Foreign Secretary.

He has pointed out that with the present plan of evacuating these students in a staggered manner, there is every apprehension that such students, who have to take flights at later dates would get anxious.

Seeking the personal intervention of the Foreign Secretary, the SC has called for arranging return of these students to Srinagar International Airport in a single flight by arranging their airlift in an aircraft with a capacity of 250 persons so that they reach Jammu and Kashmir well before the Eid festival.

“This needs to be mitigated, keeping in consideration the extreme distress prevalent in the stranded students/persons due to the COVID-19 pandemic” the CS has appealed in his letter to the Foreign Secretary.

KR Desk