Vande Bharat Mission that aims at  bringing  home stranded Indians in many countries  due to Covid-19 pandemic has come as a much needed relief to the Indians abroad and to their near and dear at home.  The Vande Bharat Mission began on May 7 with two flights landing in Kochi and Kozhikode from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. On the second day of Mission on Friday,  Air India Express carrying 152 passengers, 25 children and 5 infants from Bahrain, landed at Cochin International Airport.  Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that Vande Bharat Mission is by far the most comprehensive and complicated evacuation plan. This is not just bringing back people to India but also involve screening, quarantine and other arrangements that will have to be made for citizens. He said that Vande Bharat Mission operated from May 7 to 13 involve 64 flights from ten nations to evacuate more than 15000 Indians stranded because of Covid 19.

According to the schedule, 41 Air India flights  and 27 Air India Express flights from various foreign cities like Singapore, Riyadh, London Dhaka, Kuala Lumpur to Indian cities like Chennai , Tiruchirapalli Mumbai Delhi Hyderabad are operated over seven days. Air India flight with stranded Indian passengers will start from Manila, Phillipines   on May 14 at 6.30 PM and reach Chennai by night 10.30 PM. Another flight from Dhaka, Bangladesh  to Chennai is scheduled on the same day. Kochi to Chennai flight is scheduled on May 12, Mumbai to Chennai and return flights on May 13. All these flights are subject to last minute changes according to authorities. Air India express schedule shows 23 flights from different parts of the world to Indian cities. Flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tiruchirapalli is scheduled on May 9 Saturday.  Another flight from Singapore is scheduled at 8 PM on May 10 reaching Trichy at 9.35 PM. Two flights from Dubai to Chennai, one from Kuwait to Chennai on May 10, one from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai on May 11, one from Muscat to Chennai on May 12 are also scheduled by Air India Express. There are 177 economy seats in each Air India Express flight.

Vande Bharat Mission is not just a monotonous evacuation mission but it has also struck emotional chord with family members worrying about well being of their relatives stranded abroad. Smt Usha Subarajan of central Tamil Nadu says that she has got two sons one in Belgium and one in the US. She is worried because of Covid 19 pandemic and says that children used to come to India for vacation. But this time they are unable to come as there are no flights. Our government is bringing Indians from Gulf countries under Vande Bharat Mission likewise Indians from Belgium and the US should also be brought and will be a solace to parents at home.

In Tiruchirapalli all arrangements are made in four places to quarantine people coming in special flights if they show Covid 19 symptoms. In Karur, Collector Anbazhagan had a consultative meeting to make arrangements for those who are brought back from abroad in flights under Vande Bharat Mission. He said that special bus will be arranged to bring these passengers from Trichy airport and then they will be tested for symptoms like fever, cold or cough. They will be quarantined and given all medical care.  Shri Suresh who returned from Gulf  before the lockdown says that Vande Bharat  Mission is a prayer answered for all who wants to return home. The sight of flight docking down the runway with bold letters of Air India Express encrypted over it must have been one of the most memorable sights for those who watched it from boarding gate. Yes it is a big sigh of relief and Air India is a saving grace for those who yearn to reach the safe shores of motherland. 

Non-resident Indians have sent their hard earned money back home to take care of their family and also helped  the nation in several ways.  Now it is the give back time to take care of them and bring them home safely. And the Air India Maharajah is just living up to his   Charisma and majesty at a crisis hour.

Smt.Usha Sabarajan worried mother about children abroad

 

Air India Express in Tiruchirapalli airport

 

Passengers coming out of Air India Express in Kochi from Bahrain Vande Bharat Mission

 

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