New Delhi: A group of 70 Kashmiri students studying in Dhaka is stranded at Benaport, the border area between India and Bangladesh, after their colleges were shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has left over 16,500 people dead worldwide.
India went for a countrywide lockdown on Monday with curfew at many places to ensure social distancing and home stay. The government has also suspended international flights, sealed all the borders, ports and entry points, in a bid to contain the epidemic.
So far, over 510 people have tested positive and 10 people died in India due to the COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan city of Hubei province in China over three months ago.
Around 7,000 to 10,000 Kashmiri youth study in Bangladesh, out of which most have returned to Kashmir in the last couple of months, sources said.
However, some who stayed back are now wishing to return. A group of 70 students stuck at the border have posted a video seeking help from the Modi government," Faisal, a Kashmiri doctor told IANS.
After the Pakistan sponsored Islamist militancy hit Kashmir's education system badly, parents began sending their children for education across India and to neighbouring countries.
