Nagpur: Confusion over DM permission holds up outstation students

NAGPUR: Confusion over permission letters from collector or district magistrate (DM) held up nearly all the arriving outstation students for over two-hours near the arrival area of city airport after they landed in long haul Moscow-Nagpur flight.
Parents from Madhya Pradesh were baffled after local officials insisted on certificate from DM in order to let them take their children home.
The parents said the Indian embassy didn’t mention any need for a DM letter but instructed them to make own arrangement to ferry their kids to their hometowns out of Nagpur. People from as far as Ujjain, Gwalior, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Narsinghpur and Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh had come.
“At 2am, how are we suppose to get this letter,” asked a parent from Bhopal. MLC Prakash Gajbhiye, who was present at the airport, said the Nagpur officials tried to contact their counterparts in MP but to no avail. The stalemate continued for over two-hours. There were also students from Jalgaon, Gondia, Bhandara, Wardha and Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
“Some parents shared with me the Indian embassy email giving instructions for pick up from Nagpur airport. Nowhere did it state that the parents would need a permission from DM. I informed the Nagpur officials who agreed to let the MP students go after completing formalities. They will have to go into 14-day quarantine in their own cities,” Gajbhiye said.
Many students complained they had gone without food for over 12 hours yet they were happy to return. The students had flown around 3pm Moscow time.
Many outstation parents too had a difficult time waiting for their children. The parents had reached airport around 8pm on Wednesday and remained standing outside the arrivals gate until they saw their kids.
“We feel cheated. Already, they have charged thrice the regular air fare. Now they wanted to keep our kids in paid quarantine which would have cost another Rs15,000. Nobody is bothered if they have eaten anything or need water after the 9-hour flight,” said a mother from Chhindwara.