Chief Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir, BVR Subrahmanyam on Saturday wrote to Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla requesting early airlifting of remaining stranded J-K students from Bangladesh so that the students reach home before the festival of Eid.
"The Government of India in its efforts to evacuate stranded persons in different countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic has launched 'Vande Bharat Mission' to facilitate the movement of these persons by air and sea," the letter by the Chief Secretary read.
Subrahmanyam wrote that the first batch of 168 students of J-K studying in Bangladesh have been airlifted to Srinagar International Airport on May 8. As per data with the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, 230-240 students are still stranded in Bangladesh and are agitating for their early return to Jammu and Kashmir.
Subramanyam further said that the early return of the remaining students "attains significance in view of the ongoing holy month of Ramzan and the approaching Eid festival falling on May 25."
He further urged for Shringla's personal intervention in arranging the return of these students in a single flight to Srinagar International Airport, so that they can reach Jammu and Kashmir before Eid.
Indian students, who were stranded in Dhaka due to coronavirus-trigged restrictions, reached Srinagar on Friday and expressed gratitude to the Centre for bringing them back under the Vande Bharat Mission.
The Air India flight under 'Vande Bharat Mission' from Bangladesh capital Dhaka, carrying stranded passengers all of whom are medical students, had departed for Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar on Friday afternoon.
The people had registered online and the embassy later sent them tickets through e-mail.
As coronavirus pandemic continues, repatriation is being carried out under India's massive evacuation effort named 'Vande Bharat Mission', which began on Thursday.
Air India plans to operate 64 flights till May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
( With inputs from ANI )