Andhra parents appeal to govt to evacuate Indian students stranded at Kazakh airport amid coronavirus lockdown

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], Mar 21 (ANI): Parents of Indian students, belonging from Andhra Pradesh, urged the Centre on Saturday to pay immediate attention in bringing their children back to the country from Kazakhstan as India has suspended all international flights in a bid to contain the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
Kanneganti Veeraiah, the father of one student, K Venkateswara Rao, who studies 3rd-year medicine in Kazakhstan, said that the children are ready to get screened and tested as well as stay in quarantine centers.
"The universities are closed due to the virus outbreak. The students are stranded at Almaty airport. They say that the Indian government is not giving permission for any flight. There are almost 50 students, 25 of whom belong to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. We request the Government of India to please rescue those students," Veeraiah said told ANI.
The Indian government on Thursday banned commercial international airlines to operate to India for a week from 22 March, following an effort to curb the outspread of Covid-19.
"No scheduled international commercial passenger aircraft shall be allowed to land in India from March 22, 2020, for one week," the government said in an advisory.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan has announced lockdown from March 23rd to April 15th in the wake of the corona pandemic.
According to media reports, the central Asian country has so far reported more than 40 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection. (ANI)