“We felt relieved when our flight finally landed at the Mumbai airport,” said Neeru Garg, a college principal from Punjab who was among several Indians stranded in Sharjah (UAE) after the joint Israel-US strike on Iran.
Garg, the principal of SSD Girls College in Bathinda, said a flight carrying around 225 passengers from Dubai landed in Mumbai early Thursday morning. After reaching India, she and her husband later travelled to Chandigarh airport.
Garg said she had travelled to Dubai on a leisure trip but got stranded in Sharjah without cash or essential medicines after Iranian strikes led to the closure of airspace in the region.
“Until our flight landed at the Mumbai airport, we remained very worried,” Garg said told mediapersons at Chandigarh airport. She said there were constant discussions about missile attacks when they were at Dubai airport. “We were frightened. Once the flight landed in India, everyone on board felt a sense of relief,” she added.
According to her, there was panic among many Indians stranded there. People kept wondering whether they would be able to return home or not, she said.
Garg and her husband had gone to Dubai on a five-day trip on February 23. When they were scheduled to return after the trip, their flight from Sharjah to Amritsar was cancelled.
She had earlier shared a video on social media describing her situation and requesting help from the Centre and the Punjab government for evacuation. Garg also expressed gratitude to members of the Sikh community who offered help during the crisis.
“I salute the Sikh community. Many people who did not even know me came forward to help. I received numerous messages asking me to share an account number so they could send money,” she said. She added that she received messages offering assistance from people living in the United States, Australia and London. Garg also said that one of her former students contacted her and offered help after learning about her situation.
Several international flights were cancelled due to the escalating Middle East conflict, leaving many Indians stranded in Dubai and Sharjah.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday announced a 24-hour helpline to assist Punjabis stranded in the affected countries after the Israel-US strike on Iran, assuring them of all possible assistance.
Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Dr Ravjot Singh had also written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday seeking an urgent meeting regarding the evacuation of people straAlso read: Mann launches helpline for Punjabis stranded in Middle Eastnded in the conflict-hit region.
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