12 direct international flights will bring Rajasthan residents back to Jaipur

JAIPUR: In a major relief, the central government will operate 12 direct international flights to Jaipur for state residents residing in nine countries. The announcement was made by BJP state president Satish Poonia.
It will bring around 2,050 residents, mostly students. The first flight will operate from London to Jaipur via Delhi on May 22. The flights include four from Kazakhstan, mostly medical students. While one each from the UK, Canada, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Ukraine and the Philippines.
Danish Chishti, a second-year student of Manchester Metropolitan University, said the news came as a relief for Rajasthani students. “I am hoping to connect my family in Ajmer soon,” said Chishti, a resident of Ajmer.
Taking the credit for the flights, Poonia said he held a meeting with Vellamvelly Muraleedharan, minister of state for external affairs, apprising him about the situation of the state’s students abroad. “To my surprise, the ministry responded within days and sanctioned the number of flights,” Poonia said.
The meeting was also attended by Harendra Jodha, president of Rajasthan Association UK, who provided the database on state students in Europe to the ministry.
Sources said that students and citizens arriving in Jaipur from these nine countries will have to undergo 14-day quarantine at facilities in Jaipur or Jodhpur. It is compulsory for them to serve the isolation and to undergo an exit Covid-19 test before heading to their respective districts and towns.