Sarthak Kanjilall
Port Blair, June 12: The resident of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mrs. Pushparani stranded in the United States of America since the lockdown following COVID-19 pandemic was delighted with joy at the time she boarded the flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru, India today at 11:00 AM (11:00 PM, Time in San Francisco, California, USA, and date 11th June 2020).
The efforts of Mr. P Babu Rao, Andaman Youth posted in the Consulate General of India, San Francisco, must be lauded, as only due to his references in the Indian Embassy, the lady finally got a flight seat in the Embassy quota.
According to the reports, after 23rd May 2020, there was no flight till today following which there was a huge rush and several dead bodies to be transported to India as a result of which the chances of the quinquagenarian lady traveling India were almost zero.
However, learning the hurdles coming for the lady to travel India, Mr. P Babu Rao met the Consulate General of India, San Francisco, Mr. Sanjay Panda on 08th June 2020 and, on personal grounds requested him to do the favor of sending the lady, by stating the reason that she belongs to the Andaman Islands and that she has to travel furthermore to reach her native.
“I have worked day and night for evacuating thousands of Indians till now and I never wanted to regret that I was unable to help a lady of my town, hence, I also said the same thing to Mr. Sanjay Panda and on my plea, he made the traveling arrangements for Mrs. Pushparani possible to India in today’s flight,” Mr. Rao added.
54-year-old, Mrs. Pushparani, a resident of Lambaline, Port Blair, also an employee of Andaman Nicobar State Cooperative Bank had gone to her daughter’s home at Sunnyvale, California and got stuck there due to the lockdown. Talking to Andaman Sheekha over the phone, she expressed her sincere gratitude to the entire staffs of CGI, San Francisco especially Mr. P Babu Rao and Mr. Sanjay Panda, CGI, San Francisco for their support under Vande Bharat Mission.
Mrs. Pushparani further said that to resume her duty, she was supposed to come back to Andaman in April 2020 but due to the COVID-19 impact, the international flights stopped, therefore, she anyhow approached Mr. Rao with whose inputs and support, she registered herself in the embassy.
“On 09th June 2020, I got a call from the Indian Embassy and they informed me that one seat is available in the flight scheduled on 11th June 2020 to Bengaluru and asked my concern, to which I agreed without putting any thought into it,” Mrs. Pushparani added.
As per the schedule, Mrs. Pushparani will land in Bengaluru tomorrow morning and if the authorities will ask her to stay in quarantine she is ready to follow the directions.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, Mrs. Neha Manav, the daughter of Mrs. Pushparani said that to some extent she is happy that her mother has left for India but she is also worried about her mother’s safety.
“With the increasing number of cases in India and the Corona cases already in the USA, I am really scared, wearing a mask for 16 to 18 hours is not an easy task, I hope her test comes negative when she gets tested in Bengaluru,” said Mrs. Manav.
Mrs. Manav has also expressed her gratitude towards Mr. Rao who spoke to his superior for her mother’s traveling and extended support till her mother’s boarding. “Hopefully my mother reaches safely till Port Blair to my dad and brother as soon as possible,” Mrs. Manav added.
Andaman Sheekha would also like to appreciate Mr. Rao who is away from his family but even though not leaving any stones unturned to help others in the place which itself is highly affected by Corona.
