The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Central government to promptly appoint a nodal officer from the Indian Embassy in Kazakhstan to ensure the well-being of Indian students who are stranded at Almaty International Airport due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
A Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh, which heard the case through videoconferencing, ordered that the details of the nodal officers so appointed, including the name and telephone number, be communicated to the Indian students at the airport.
The details should also be uploaded on the official website of the Ministry of External Affairs, immediately, the Bench directed.
The High Court’s direction came of a petition, claiming that Indian national in sizeable numbers, who are enrolled for higher studies, including M.B.B.S, as regular students at Semey Medical University, Kazakhstan, are stranded in the country.
The plea claimed that several students at the Almaty airport are stranded without food, water, transportation and medical aid etc., since last two to three days.
Taking note of the plea, the Bench directed the government to ensure welfare, well-being and safety of all such Indian students. It directed the nodal officer “to expeditiously facilitate, secure and provide the students with all basic amenities and humanitarian assistance”.
