IT WAS HIS 36TH DAY of being stranded in the Dubai International Airport and Deepak Gupta, understandably, was miserable. “I have not seen the sun or breathed fresh air for more than a month,” he told THE WEEK. “I am stuck. Can you imagine such a life?”
Gupta landed in Dubai on March 18, the day India decided to stop the entry of Indians coming from Europe. He was told that he could not fly to India when he was preparing to check-in. “I am yet to overcome that shock,” said Gupta, who has been living in the airport since.
A resident of Delhi’s Uttam Nagar, he had gone to Budapest on an official assignment a month earlier. As Covid-19 began to spread worldwide, his employer, a Gurugram-based multinational company, called him back. As he left Budapest to catch an Emirates flight from Dubai to Delhi, little did he know that he would spend the next few weeks in an airport.
“I had no idea about the ban on passengers coming from Europe when I boarded the flight from Budapest,” said Gupta. “My wife is pregnant, and I was counting the hours before I could be with her. Now I really don’t know when I will be able to see her.”
Apart from Gupta, 18 other Indians have been stranded in the airport. They had all landed in Dubai on or after March 18, from different parts of the globe. According to India’s ministry of external affairs, five of them are from Kerala, four from Gujarat, three from Punjab, two from Maharashtra and one each from Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka.
Most of them had no clue about the ban when they started their journeys. After banning inbound passengers from Europe, India extended the ban to include all international flights on March 22.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 03, 2020-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 03, 2020-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
There Is A Wind Blowing Against The BJP, And It Will Only Pick Up Speed
Interview - Akhilesh Yadav, Former Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh
Between hospital and home
Transitional care centres can add a lot to India's health care system
EFFORT VS EFFECT
The government's attempts to ensure quality drugs is evident, but how well new policies can be monitored on the ground remains to be seen
A way to let go of fear
Accepting the use of adult diapers is a journey with various stages-denial, concealment, rejection and reluctance
Mandeeps & a miracle
Two strangers, one deadly disease and an act of kindness. How Mandeep Mann saved Mandeep Singh, an acute leukaemia patient, by donating his stem cells
The A, B, C of cosmetic surgery
Between eight to 10 lakh cosmetic surgeries happen in India every year. Who is an ideal candidate, and what are the risks and results you can expect?
Vaccines and meningitis
In sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, and encompassing the northern part of Nigeria, there exists a region known as the African Meningitis Belt (AMB).
Celebrating diversity and inclusivity
As Indians battle it out in our nation's 18th general election, it is again time for voters to reflect on the \"Idea of India\"-or rather, on two duelling ideas of India that are now before us and between which the nation must choose at the ballot box.
Defendant: an Hermès handbag
When Hermès was hit with a class-action lawsuit last month for \"antitrust\" activities, it didn't see it coming. Most of the luxury world has all eyes on this suit, filed by two interested consumers who claim they were denied a purchase, and whether it would go to trial.
A legacy, bound
Amal Allana's biography of her father, Ebrahim Alkazi, is as much personal as it is historical
