Gujarat CM urges Jaishankar’s intervention after man tweets for daughter ‘stuck’ in China

Rupani’s move came after Vadodara resident Shashi Kumar Jaiman on Monday tweeted to him informing that his 18-year-old daughter, doing MBBS in Hubei University in China, was stuck there, and sought help from the state government. Hubei province is said to be the epicentre of the deadly virus.

Jaiman, in his tweets to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Member of Parliament from Vadodara, Ranjan Bhatt, requested, “My daughter Shreya Jaiman is studying in Hubei University for MBBS, in Wuhan city of China. There are nearly 300 students from India of which 100 are from Gujarat who are stuck there due to coronavirus. Please take necessary steps to take them back to India.”

Talking to The Indian Express, Jaiman said, “It is winter vacation for them and the university is closed for a month. She was supposed to come home but could not. We have been communicating with her on a daily basis but they are facing problems in terms of daily need items and food as well. Students from other countries like Japan, America, Israel have been rescued already, our children are waiting still. We just want them back safe.”

Jaiman said that Bhatt reached out to him after the tweet and assured him all help. “I received a call from Rajan Bhatt and she asked me for relevant documents, which I have provided. She has assured that she will speak to the external affairs minister to expedite the process of bringing the students back. The students there have been informed that probably within the next two to three days, they will be brought back,” he added.

Spokesperson of the External Affairs ministry tweeted that the situation was being closely monitored by the minister and that no Indian has been affected by the virus. “EAM @DrSJaishankar is closely monitoring the situation. @EOIBeijing is in close touch with Indian citizens, including university students, in Wuhan and elsewhere ib Hubei Province in China,” MEA spokesperson tweeted.

“We are also coordinating with Chinese authorities. As of now, we understand that no Indian citizens have been affected by the outbreak and that food and water supplies are available to them,” another tweet read. The Indian Embassy in China has also opened three hotline numbers for Indian citizens and received over 600 calls so far.

(With PTI inputs)