Tomar seeks Centre help to fly back Indians stuck in Australia

Expressing concern over Indians stranded in Australia due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday requested his cabinet colleagues in foreign and civil aviation ministries to take necessary steps to bring them back. Tomar has sought intervention of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri to bring back the Indians stranded in Australia due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tomar requested Jaishankar and Puri to take necessary action in the matter, official sources told PTI. Tomar has forwarded a letter from Bhopal resident Rajesh Malik about his son Varun, who is stranded in Australia, where he had gone on an assignment. In the letter, Malik has also attached a list with names of a few others who were stuck in Australia and wished to return home. The Union government has launched the country's biggest-ever peacetime evacuation plan to bring back thousands of Indians stranded in foreign countries due to the global pandemic, which has affected more than 190 nations. The Indian Navy and Air India are bringing back around 16,000 Indians stuck in 13 countries.

(Image credits: PTI)