HYDERABAD: While Indian students stuck in violence-hit Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek on Tuesday said that the situation has improved significantly, they are still worried of safety at night and requested that more flights be arranged to facilitate their return to India at the earliest.
According to the students, while things appeared normal on Monday morning, violence resumed at night at some places in Bishkek and the neighbouring town of Kant. One of the students told TNIE, “We are not as panicked as before. We can turn on the lights and open the balcony for fresh air. But, I still don’t think I can sleep at night. The situation was tense on Monday night also.”
“Many police cars lined up near a private hostel around 1 am (local time) on Monday following an instance of attempted violence. There was also panic among the students as we heard that locals were knocking on the doors of the foreign nationals living near Pervi,” another student shared.
Although attacks have reportedly reduced, students have been asked to avoid going outdoors unless there is an emergency. Locked indoors in fear for the past few days, many students said their main concern is leaving the country safely.
As there are no evacuation plans by the Indian government, the airfare of regular flights has shot up due to the high demand. The tickets for connecting flights, which reportedly used to cost Rs 25,000, are now priced around Rs 40,000 or above, students shared.
While the flights of Aero Nomad, which is the only direct carrier to India, were fully booked as of Monday, one of the students shared, “They have now added one more flight on May 24 and students have been contacting the contractors to get their tickets booked for this flight at $350/ticket (around Rs 29,000).”
Kishan writes to Jaishankar
According to sources, it is believed that as many as 172 students from Telangana are stuck in Bishkek.
Meanwhile, Union Culture and Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday wrote to Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar requesting immediate action to bring back Indian students from Bishkek.
Stating that there are a large number of Telugu students pursuing their higher education in Bishkek, Kishan said he had received representations from many panic-stricken parents expressing concern over the safety of their wards.
The state BJP chief requested Jaishankar to “consider organising special flights to bring the Indian students back till the issues come under control”.