Most of these Ladakh students are staying in sectors 15, 11, 42 and Nayagaon.
WITH MEAGRE ration and no money left, several residents of Ladakh including students are packed like sardines in PG rooms in Chandigarh, stranded due to the lockdown. Moreover, 40 patients from Ladakh who had come to PGI for treatment of various chronic ailments, are facing a tough time.
Mohammad Ali brought his daughter here all the way from Kargil, to get her leg operated upon, but the father-daughter got stranded here in a room in Nayagaon after the surgery.
Ladakh Student Association president Tashi Raftan said he has arranged some food for them now because Ali’s daughter is bed-ridden and he cannot leave her alone to go buy essentials.
“I don’t know what to do, I feel so helpless. Till when will we remain stranded here? I request the administration to do something for patients like us. When my daughter feels low, I just keep telling her some motivational stories but sometimes I cry at night thinking about how will we survive in these circumstances with money running out,” Ali told The Indian Express.
Liaison officers have been appointed by the Ladakh administration who have been in touch with the patients to provide them medicines and food. Some of them are suffering from cancer, others from heart problems or asthma. They have been facing a lot of problems due to shortage of money.
Meanwhile, most of the students who came here from Ladakh say they have no money left for survival and have been trying to contact the Ladakh administration and that of Chandigarh and Punjab requesting them to allow them to go back, but to no avail.
Most of these Ladakh students are staying in sectors 15, 11, 42 and Nayagaon.
Raftan said, “There are about 1,200 Ladakhis stuck here. Most of us who are students have run out of money because our villages back home in Ladakh have been sealed and parents are unable to send money. At the same time, the owners of our rented rooms don’t allow us to move out even to buy essentials as they fear we will bring the virus home. We don’t know what to do.”
Raftan said some students are feeling depressed. “We forward them videos of motivational speakers as they are feeling a lot of anxiety. Once a week we also arranged a spiritual leader’s session over video call to make them feel better.”
They have been trying to contact NGOs to source food.
“All of us just share the little food we get. One of the student’s brother, who is in the second grade, came here to spend time with him and he too got stuck here due to the lockdown. Due to paucity of money and to ensure that they feel safe when they are together, in most of the rooms, many are staying together,” he added.
Tsering Angmo, another student from Ladakh studying at Panjab University, said, “While the other states are doing their bit for the stranded students, like UP evacuating 7,000+ students from Kota, the UT administration of Ladakh has completely disowned the stranded students.”
They said that various student organisations have unitedly and persistently requested the administration since the beginning but to no avail.
“We are feeling very discouraged and alienated in this situation with the rising number of cases and the bleak hope of reaching home.We are scared as most of us are living alone in single rented rooms. We are just dependent on ourselves for everything,” she added.