Indore : After 50 members of Bohras community of Indore communicated through WhatsApp that they were stranded in strife-torn Yemen, their family members on Thursday urged the Union Government to get them evacuated from Yemen.
A delegation of Bohra community members sought Lok Sabha Speaker and Indore MP Sumitra Mahajan’s help in persuading the Centre for rescue of stranded pilgrims.
“We have called up Mahajan and sought her help in evacuation of the pilgrims. She assured us of all possible help from the Centre,” local Bohra community leader Hussain Ali said. At least 50 local Bohras left for Yemen on March 23 on a 21-day pilgrimage (Zeyarat).
Another Bohra community leader Johar Manpurwala said that the pilgrims landed in trouble during the first leg of their journey to Yemen and were accommodated at an inn run by the Bohra community near Sanaa, the capital of troubled nation. They narrated their ordeal to their family members through social messaging service WhatsApp.
“The Central Government is expected to swung into action and rescue our family members from Yemen,” Ali said. The Bohra community also requested Gwalior MP Jyotiraditya Scindia to talk to the Union government over the matter.
Fighting has been raging in Yemen since January 22 when the government under President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was ousted by the Shia Houthi militia. Saudi Arabia has been heading air strikes on Yemen with a coalition of 10 countries.
Of the 350 Indians evacuated so far, 206 belong to Kerala, 40 are from Tamil Nadu, 31 from Maharashtra, 23 from West Bengal, 22 from Delhi, 15 from Karnataka and 13 from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, unconfirmed sources said. No pilgrim from Madhya Pradesh has been evacuated from war-torn Yemen so far, the sources added.
