Over 70 Indian Students Evacuated from Iran
More than 70 Indian students, most of them from Jammu and Kashmir, were evacuated from conflict-hit Iran and arrived in New Delhi on Sunday morning as part of the first phase of a repatriation operation, officials said.
According to an official speaking to Kashmir News Service, the group also included several pilgrims. They landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 9:45 AM on a commercial flight that travelled via Armenia and Dubai.
Students Travelled Long Route to Reach India
Officials said the students were first transported by road from different cities in Iran to the Armenian border.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
From Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, they boarded a Flydubai flight to Dubai. From there, they took a connecting flight to New Delhi.
Authorities added that while some students continued their journey by bus after arriving in Delhi, others chose connecting flights to Srinagar because they were exhausted after several days of continuous travel.
Many Students Studying Medicine in Iran
Nasir Khuehmi, National Convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, said most of the evacuated students were studying at Urmia University of Medical Sciences and Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
He said many students had earlier been moved to safer places by the Embassy of India in Tehran as tensions in the region increased.
Evacuation Coordinated by MEA
Khuehmi said the evacuation became possible through coordination between the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian diplomatic missions in Tehran and Yerevan.
He thanked the central government for helping bring the students back safely and said their return has provided great relief to families in Kashmir who were worried about their children.
Call for Larger Evacuation Operation
However, Khuehmi urged the government to start a full-scale evacuation mission similar to Operation Ganga, which was carried out during the Ukraine conflict.
He said such an operation would help bring back all Indian students who are still stranded in different parts of Iran.
To help the students reach home, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir arranged AC sleeper buses at the airport for the final leg of their journey.
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