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MoS MEA Kirti Vardhan Singh welcomes the first group of 110 Indian students evacuated from Iran as part of Operation Sindhu, in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI via MEA)
Indian students from Jammu and Kashmir, recently brought back from conflict-hit Iran under Operation Sindhu, expressed deep gratitude towards the Centre for the smooth evacuation process. However, they criticised the Jammu and Kashmir administration for providing poorly maintained buses for their onward journey from Delhi to their hometowns. Many of them called the conditions “unsafe and disappointing”.
The Centre had launched Operation Sindhu to bring back Indian nationals amid the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.
One of the evacuees, Sheikh Afsa, who returned to Delhi with 110 other passengers, told ANI, “We are happy to return here, but we are also worried about our studies. The situation there (Iran) is bad, and people are scared. We even received calls from people in Iran, who said the situation in Iran is very critical.”
Afsa added, “The (Indian) government evacuated us from our dormitory, from our doors; we didn’t even expect this much. They helped us at every step; no one faced any problem, and we are grateful to the central government for the role they played in evacuating us.”
ANI quoted another student as saying, “We are tired after such a long journey. The central government and the Indian embassy did such a good job that we didn’t feel any problem – it wasn’t like we were being evacuated, as everything was so smooth.”
Criticism over substandard buses for return to J&K
Despite the smooth airlift from Iran to Delhi, the students expressed frustration with the Jammu and Kashmir government for arranging poor-quality buses for their travel home. “We hadn’t felt we would have any issue as we were to go home, and the state government would take care of it further. But, the buses being provided are in such a bad condition. Two hours back, CM Omar Abdullah tweeted about this, but nothing has happened yet,” one student noted.
In a more scathing criticism, another student said, “The buses that have been provided are in such bad condition that even animals will not travel in them. We can’t go in such buses, and our safety could have been compromised. We are here (in Delhi) and for that we are thankful to the central government as they have evacuated us smoothly, we faced no problem till here, but we are having a problem here now.”
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Omar Abdullah responds to students’ concerns
Responding to the students’ complaints, the office of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stated on X that he had taken note of their concerns. “The Chief Minister has taken note of the request of the students evacuated from Iran regarding the quality of buses arranged to transport them from Delhi to J&K. The Resident Commissioner has been tasked with coordinating with the JKRTC to ensure proper deluxe buses are arranged,” a tweet from the Chief Minister’s Office read.
The Chief Minister has taken note of the request of the students evacuated from Iran regarding the quality of buses arranged to transport them from Delhi to J&K. The Resident Commissioner has been tasked with coordinating with the JKRTC to ensure proper deluxe buses are arranged.
— Office of Chief Minister, J&K (@CM_JnK) June 19, 2025
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