New Delhi: India Wednesday said it has offered to
buy air tickets for return of its 105 nationals lodged in
Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek after they were evacuated from
violence-hit southern Kyrgz towns.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vishnu Prakash
told reporters here that the offer was made to all the Indians
evacuated from Osh and Jalal-Abad, though some of them wanted
to remain in Bishkek.
"In accordance with established consular procedures, the
Indian Mission in Bishkek has offered to buy tickets for those
students who may be facing temporary financial difficulties,"
Prakash said, replying to reporters` queries on the ethnic
violence in the Central Asian nation that has claimed over
120 lives.
He said in cases where students wanted to return to India
for their summer vacations but had financial difficulties due
to their sudden evacuation, they would have to hand over their
passports to the Indian Mission in Bishkek to avail an
emergency certificate and a one-way ticket to India.
"The individual, who avails of the facility, repays the
money to the government in due course and gets his passport
back. These are the government rules," he said.
Some of the evacuated students had left back their
passports in Osh and Jalal-Abad and in some other cases their
visas had expired.
In all such instances, the Indian Embassy in Bishkek was
providing free passport and visa services to facilitate their
travel, Prakash said.
"Commercial and chartered flights are operating normally
in and out of Bishkek and our Mission is assisting students
with the travel arrangements. It is understood that a couple
of chartered flights are likely to operate within the coming
days between Bishkek and India. We are hopeful that all
students who wish to travel to India will be able to do so,"
he added.
The spokesperson also emphasised that the Indian Mission
in Bishkek had made arrangements for the stay of the evacuated
Indian nationals at the students hostels in the International
University of Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.
"The government`s primary concern in situations of
distress for Indian nationals is to get them out of harm`s way
by the fastest possible means. This is precisely what was
achieved when the Embassy chartered an aircraft to bring our
nationals from troubled Osh and Jalal-Abad to Bishkek," he
said, when asked about complaints from the evacuated students
that they were not being provided proper facilities of stay
and food.
According to Kyrgyz officials, over 120 persons have died
and another 1,600 people in the ethnic clashes in the last one
week. However, ethnic Uzbeks have alleged many more were
killed and accused Kyrgyzstan government forces of helping
Kyrgyz mobs in their deadly rampage.
PTI
