With Logjam At Azerbaijan Border, Indian Students Take To Armenia For Iran Exit

Srinagar: Indian students looking to repatriate from war-torn Iran after remaining stranded for several days at the Iran-Azerbaijan border, have been offered an alternative exit via Armenia.

The development followed after over 200 students, as reported by ETV Bharat, were denied entry at borders at Baku for want of a travel code. “The Indian embassy has told students to move through Armenia as Azerbaijan has been allowing just 10 students to cross per day,” said Dr Momin Khan, president All India Medical Students Association (AIMA), who is coordinating and overseeing the repatriation of students.

He said the Armenia route has proven smooth with 200 students from Shiraz and Isfahan cities crossing the border to catch their flights to New Delhi. Nearly 900 Indian nationals mainly students from Jammu and Kashmir have exited Iran via Armenia and Azerbaijan since last week. According to external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, 882 Indian nationals including students and pilgrims had so far crossed into Armenia and Azerbaijan.

While 772 Indians crossed into Armenia but only 110 entered Azerbaijan, he said. “After the first batch, Azerbaijan halted the crossing for many days. Now, they are allowing students in a batch of 10 every day,” Dr Khan told ETV Bharat.

In Jammu and Kashmir, from where the majority of students were stranded in Iran, mother of a fifth year MBBS student at Iran University of Medical Sciences, Asifa concurred with Khan. She said her son alongside his only nine fellow students, was allowed to travel to cross the border after they got the travel code from Azerbaijan last night.

“His ticket was scheduled for March 18 but the delay caused cancelation and hence financial losses,” she said. “We booked a fresh ticket only once he crossed the border we were apprehensive,” Asifa added. He will reach New Delhi on Saturday night.

Unlike Operation Sindhu last year when India evacuated its citizens from Iran during a 12-day war, this time it facilitated bus travel for students to the borders so they could fly their citizens out at their own expense. With disruption in aviation network due to the war particularly in the Gulf countries, the tickets costs have shot up. For many parents, booking tickets has been unaffordable with many taking up loan for the safety of their children.

A parent said their ward was unwilling to return because the cost of ticket was beyond the budget. “However, a parent of another student could not bear my desperation and booked the ticket for my ward as well. Without such generosity, my child would have been stuck there,” the parent added.

Over 500-600 students, pursuing MBBS are still stranded in Iran, said Dr Khan and their return is expected in next few days as flights are operating daily from Armenia to repatriate students. Dr Khan estimated that tickets worth over Rs 30 lakh were cancelled and the students have got fraction of refund for cancellations. A ticket which cost Rs 50,000 has been refunded a mere Rs 10,000, causing more financial challenges for students.

Now after being offered exit via Armenia, they are expected to receive visas upon arrival but will need to arrange and book their tickets on their own again, he added.

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