As Iran reels from the devastation spread by the coronavirus, the Indian Embassy in Iran has been mounting a massive reach out operation in the past week, especially to over 1,000 stranded fishermen.
Trapped in the southern provinces of Iran, fishermen from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat appealed to the government for help. In a video message sent to their families, fishermen from Kerala had said that they were running out of provisions. Shashi Tharoor, MP from Thiruvananthapuram, had taken the matter up with the Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar.
On March 20, embassy officials tweeted a video, with the caption: “#Embassy&#Consulate Bandar Abbas distributed essentials to 1006 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Kerala in Iran’s southern provinces of Bushehr & Hormozgan”.
#Embassy & #Consulate in Bandar Abbas have started supplying essentials to ~1000 #Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Kerala in Iran’s southern provinces of Bushehr & Hormozgan. @DrSJaishankar @harshvshringla @dhamugaddam @MoHFW_INDIA @MEAIndia @drharshvardhan @MOS_MEA pic.twitter.com/9rKITHRwO6
— India in Iran (@India_in_Iran) March 20, 2020
One of the biggest challenges for the embassy officials has been access. Like in India, Iran, too, has an interprovincial lockdown. Diplomats, too, are bound by the restrictions placed by the government. Kish islands had 320 fishermen stranded. Apart from Kish, there are 8 fishermen in Bushtaneh, 54 in Charak, 320 in Chiruyeh, 97 in Moqam, 27 in Lavan and 180 in Bushehr Asalouyeh. The Bandar Abbas consulate, in the last few days, distributed essential supplies to the 1,006 fishermen.
Iran’s lockdown had made it hard for the staff at the consulate to provide supplies to the fishermen. However, a local supplier was identified to ensure essentials. “It is working well,’’ said Raveesh Kumar, the ministry of external affairs spokesperson at the weekly briefing on Thursday.
The situation in Iran is "very very grave'' as Damu Ravi, additional secretary MEA and the nodal officer for COVID-19 admitted. Iranian leaders over the past few days have appealed to the international community to lift the "immoral sanctions''. President Rouhani had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking to help. "The virus knows no boundary,” Rouhani wrote. The death toll in Iran now stands at 1,812.
Over the past week, India has brought back nationals stranded in Iran. In a massive operation, Indians have been brought back by military aircraft as well as Air Mahaan.
On Thursday, the number of Indians rescued from the country was at 590. Iran is also the only country which has the highest number of Indians who have tested positive for corona. The ministry of external affairs informed the Parliament last week that 255 Indians had been afflicted with the virus. An effort has been made to separate those who have tested positive said officials. The Indian mission was also working to ensure that those who have COVID-19 were being provided “proper medical facilities’’. India hopes that with the right care, all the positive patients will recover and can be brought back home.
