Indians in Wuhan want to come back

Hyderabad: Indians stuck in Wuhan city of Hubei province in China, the epicentre of the deadly outbreak of a new coronavirus disease, are a worried lot. Stuck in their hostel rooms or homes, many of the students, and others who work in Wuhan, want to return home to India.

While multiple people in Wuhan that Deccan Chronicle spoke with on Sunday expressed satisfaction with the Indian embassy in Beijing for reaching out to them to collect information and assuring them of efforts being made to help them leave the city and return home, some were not sure if they wanted to leave, in the hope of the situation improving in the days and weeks to come.

They said that the streets were completely deserted with all businesses shuttering down following instructions from the local government to prevent groups of people coming together that might pose a risk of spread of infection in the event of any individual being exposed to the virus.

Several students had returned to India for winter holidays that coincide with the Chinese New Year Day, which witnessed muted celebrations on Saturday. One of those interviewed said, “Some of us who had planned to go home for a longer summer holidays break stayed back and are now stuck here in Wuhan. While some want to go back, others are unable to decide.”

Saahil, who hails from Ranchi in Jharkhand and is pursuing a PhD in automobile engineering at the Wuhan University of Technology was one among those this newspaper spoke with. The city authorities have been helpful and we have been following their directions to all Wuhan’s residents on staying safe and preventing contracting the disease, he said.

“We are all following instructions, not going out unnecessarily, or meeting in groups, and taking precautions such as wearing masks. The Indian embassy has been very active over the past five days. It contacted Indians here and set up three hotlines for us to address our questions. They have been very helpful and assured us that they were working on helping those who want to leave,” Mr Saahil said.

“Nobody thought it would be this serious when the first reports of the disease became public but now the situation has changed. The hospitals are full and most people are scared. Many stores are closed. Some of those that are open are running out of supplies as all transport into the city has been banned,” another Indian from Wuhan said.

Kuldeep Malik, a yoga teacher who has been living in Wuhan for the past five years, was one among those who definitely wants to return to India at the earliest.

“We are requesting the authorities and the Indian embassy to help us return home. The conditions here are very critical. Everything is in a lockdown status. We are afraid but are keeping our spirits up,” said Mr Malik, who hails from Kudana village in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh.

“Though we want to leave, there is no way to do so as all movement of people out of Wuhan and the province has been banned. There are about 400 to 500 Indians who study and work in Wuhan and elsewhere in the Hubei province,” he added.