External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday made a surprise visit to Kashmir and met parents of students stranded in coronavirus-hit Iran as well as tourism industry representatives, assuring both groups that the government was seized of their problems and all would be well.
Jaishankar, whose visit was kept under a veil of secrecy, drove straight from the airport to the Kashmir International Convention complex, where around 100 parents of students stranded in Iran had gathered.
Those gathered at the complex said they were unaware about who they were supposed to meet. They said they received calls from the office of the divisional commissioner of Kashmir asking them to come for a meeting.
"Met in #Srinagar the families of Indian students in #Iran. Assured them that our Embassy @India_in_Iran is monitoring their welfare. We are committed to facilitating their early return to India," Jaishankar tweeted.
An estimated 300 people from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are currently stranded in Iran. These include students, pilgrims and other residents.
The parents asked the minister that if students from China could be brought back why there was a delay in case of Iran, officials attending the meeting said.
According to the officials, the minister informed the parents that elderly and pilgrims would be brought back first, followed by students. Besides, he made it clear that anyone airlifted from Iran would be sent to a quarantine centre for 14 days of isolation.
Shabir Hussain, a resident of Budgam town in central Kashmir, said, "My daughter is in Iran. I received a call from the Divisional Commissioner office to reach here, so I came. The minister said the government will bring them back, but we are very concerned....we requested the minister to bring them back immediately."
Another parent, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "We told him that our children are in Iran and that we are very concerned about their well-being. He assured us that they are at a safe place and there was nothing to worry about. We felt a sense of relief."
In a tweet, the minister said, "Heard a clear message from them that they were ready for the forthcoming tourist season. Promised them that Govt would strongly support tourism promotion efforts, domestically and internationally."
There was complete misinformation from the government and many of the associations had not come prepared, one of the hoteliers said, adding, "We came with out balance sheet which reflects losses and nothing else."
In a tweet, he said, "Interacted with the local community in #Baramulla. E-inaugurated a number of projects. Heard from a broad cross-section about their strong expectations of change and developmental progress. Confident that their faith in a better future will be realised."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content