Srinagar, Jun 19: The first batch of students evacuated from Iran left for Srinagar on Thursday afternoon, while hundreds more are still in Iran, awaiting their turns to be evacuated.
A group of 700 students reached Mashhad city while more were being brought from nearby cities.
After travelling through multiple Iranian cities, through Armenia and now to Delhi, 110 students, 90 of them from Kashmir, recounted their experiences of getting evacuated.
Videos widely circulated over social media showed students thanking the Ministry of External Affairs and officials of Indian embassies in Tehran and Armenia for ensuring smooth transit and travel for them. ìEverything had been planned and arranged and we did not face any problem at all,î a female student told reporters outside Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.
She was part of the group enrolled at Urmia University in Iran and the first to be taken out of the war-hit country.
Many other students spoke on the same lines while expressing their desire to reach their homes soon.
However, the journey home did not seem to align with the arrangements students had seen earlier.
Students expressed dissatisfaction over the arrangements made by the J&K government for their travel from New Delhi to Srinagar.
ìWe have travelled for three straight days, in tension-filled situations. And now we are supposed to travel on these rickety buses?î a student said.
Many students demanded that instead of buses, they be air-lifted to Srinagar.
ìJ&K government could at least care this much for us,î a student said.
Soon after the Chief Ministerís office resorted to course correction and announced that ëDeluxe Busesí would be deputed for transporting students.
ìThe CM has taken note of the request of the students evacuated from Iran regarding the quality of buses arranged for transportation from Delhi to J&K.
ìThe Resident Commissioner has been tasked to coordinate with JKRTC to ensure that proper deluxe buses are arranged,î the Office of the Chief Minister said.
As per the reports, the students boarded buses in the afternoon. However, in Iran, 700 more students are still in a risky situation, awaiting evacuation.
A student told Greater Kashmir that around 700 students had gathered in Mashhad city, and officials from the Indian Embassy had told them that they would be taken to Turkmenistan on Friday.
ìMany students are still arriving here,î he said.
From Turkmenistan, the Indian students will be brought to New Delhi.
As per reports, many others will travel through Qatar.
A student told Greater Kashmir that their travel is slated over the next couple of days, after fulfilling the documentation required at the border.
ìA group had left in the morning but had to return as the documentation was incomplete,î he said.
The internet communication links with students have broken during travel and in transit to various cities.
This has put families back home through distress and worries. Parents in Kashmir have appealed for expedited evacuation as tensions escalate in Iran.
