New Delhi : After moving all its 105 nationals out of trouble-torn southern Kyrgyzstan to capital Bishkek, India is arranging chartered planes within coming days to bring home those wanting to do so and is offering to buy tickets for anybody facing financial difficulties.
"Commercial and chartered flights are operating normally in and out of Bishkek and our Mission is assisting students with the travel arrangements," External Affairs spokesman Vishnu Prakash told reporters here while giving an update on the condition concerning Indian nationals in Bishkek moved out of violence-hit Osh and Jalal-Abad areas.
"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.
Noting that some of the Indians wanted to stay back in Kyrgyzstan, Prakash said the Indian Mission has made arrangements for them 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.
He was responding when asked about complaints from the evacuated students that they were not being provided proper facilities of stay and food.
Talking about the government's efforts, the spokesman 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.
"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," he said.
"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.
Southern parts of Kyrgyzstan, particularly Osh and Jalal-Abad have been witnessing ethnic violence between Kyrgyz and minority Uzbeks since past one week in which 120 people have died and another 1,600 people injured.
The violence has led to large-scale migration of ethnic Uzbeks and the Kyrgyzstan government has appealed for international help to deal with the problem. PTI
