Israel-Iran conflict escalates: Out of cash & low on medicines, Bathinda couple stranded in Dubai

Bathinda: A flight home that never came, evicted from the airport on a moment's notice, and with critical medicines nearly exhausted, a couple from Bathinda is counting down the hours in Dubai even as missiles and drones rain down on the city.

Neeru Garg, who is the principal of a private college in Bathinda, and her husband were on a trip to the United Arab Emirates from Feb 22-28. They were to board a flight back from Sharjah on Saturday but are now stuck in Dubai along with thousands of other Indians in the aftermath of the conflict between US-Israel and Iran.


They have requested Indian govt to evacuate those stranded in the Middle East.

In a social media chat with TOI on Sunday evening, Neeru Garg said they had a flight from Sharjah to Amritsar at 2.30pm on Saturday. "Around 2pm, we were told that flights have been delayed and likely to be cancelled. We got worried. After some time, we were told about the cancellation of the flight but we kept hoping and waiting at the airport as we had no place to go. Around 10pm we were told to move out without being provided any help. Indigo authorities asked us to contact airline officials for support at the baggage collection point. When we reached the Indigo office, no one was there and we were told that they had gone," she said.

"We came out and sat outside the airport for nearly 30 minutes. We inquired for a room to spend the night but all hotels were full. We got a very expensive room at a hotel nearly 20km from the airport where we reached at midnight, only to be told that we'd have to check out at 11am on Sunday," she said.

The couple hired a taxi from Sharjah to Dubai on Sunday morning – landing up in a city that's being hit by Iranian missiles.

"We have taken shelter at the house of an Indian doctor, arranged for by a family friend from Bathinda," Garg told TOI from Dubai on Sunday evening.

"We have no idea where to go as we don't have any money left and we are running low on even essential medicines, including for blood pressure. There is no one to guide us, though some near and dear ones have offered help. We hope Indian govt officials will contact us and support us," she said.