There’s a wave of crippling anxiety in the air. And, undeniably so. Ever since reports of the Qatar crisis broke early on Monday, young Bengaluru peeps with Doha ties are having nightmares. Or wait, is there more to it than the abrupt calling off of flights and cargo? With updates and reports spiraling out of control, we chat with Doha returns and Bengalureans with Qatar roots who give us their take.
Hinting at the ambiguity of the situation, Reshma Hegde, a 24-year-old Indian student from Doha, opines how more than the fear, it’s the inconvenience which is disturbing. “The fact that all roads were closed and borders were blocked meant prolonged in-flight hours. Ideally, it takes about 45 minutes to reach Doha from Dubai. But, after the whole ‘Qatar Crisis Scare’ it is taking about two hours. That’s usually the time taken in a flight from Dubai to India. In all honesty, more than the worries of what-ifs, what’s actually bothering us is the very fact that 14-15 direct flights have been cancelled. And, that’s not all. Even flight-related businesses like cargo and shipping have been disrupted.” Echoing similar lines, Swathi Subramani, a 23-year-old alumnus of Jyothi Nivas College, with a Doha-base, adds, “Quite like most issues threatening the overall peace and security of a place, all we know is what the news is telling us and the information we are getting is very upsetting. For someone with a base there, it is disturbing to see that airlines are shut or prices are hiking up. Students wanting to go back home (to Doha) or people having plans to visit their loved ones can’t. It’s crazy and sad at the same time. As of now, I think more than the political instability, it’s the inconvenience and the fear which has caught up. Authorities need to take adequate measures to ensure the common man doesn’t suffer for long.”
Some calm before the... storm? “Mild-bearable levels of anxiety aside, I don’t think the scene is as intense as people are perceiving it to be. Particularly from India. Yes, the travel sector has been hit, but it’s really not like the end of the world as Indians travel to Doha mainly via Qatar Airways, Jet Airways and Air India. And, India is supporting Qatar. So, it’s not that big a blow (as yet) to the common man,” says Anoop Kirangat Vasudevan, 31, marketing head at Sharanya Narayani International School. Adding how it’s assuring to hear about things being normal from his folks back home, Vasudevan adds, “My brother is in Doha now. I spoke to him and he said everything is normal there. The only abnormal scenes are busy supermarkets. Because people don’t want to face some uncertainty if something goes wrong.”
