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Around 120 persons from Karnataka are currently stranded in Iran amidst escalating safety concerns. They include 60 to 70 students pursuing medicine and religious studies, as well as pilgrims and hail from towns such as Gauribidanur, T Narasipura, Mysuru, and Bengaluru.
Speaking to TNM, Arathi Krishna, Deputy Chairperson of the NRI Forum of Karnataka, said, “Some students were initially taken to Armenia, but now things aren’t safe on that route. Others have been moved to East Tehran. Talks are ongoing to bring them back via Turkmenistan.”
Arathi said she’s in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Iran. “I am also constantly communicating with the students and their families here in Karnataka,” she said.
The NRI Forum in a statement said, “As of now, over 5,000 NRIs have been moved to nearby safe locations. If the war-like situation escalates further, there are plans to evacuate them through neighbouring countries and arrange their return to India.”
Adding that efforts are underway to collect details about NRIs from Karnataka residing in Israel as well.
Earlier, TNM had reported on families from Alipur village in Gauribidanur taluk of Chikkaballapur district who have been anxiously waiting for updates from students stranded in Iran.
On Sunday, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, HD Kumaraswamy, held a video call with several Kannadigas stranded in Israel due to the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that efforts are underway to safely bring back Kannadigas stranded in Israel and Iran. “I have spoken to Kannadigas stuck in war-hit regions. I also spoke to our Congress spokesperson Nataraj Gowda,” he said.
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