COVID-19 lockdown throws Indian students in UK into financial crisis

NEW DELHI: Over 400 Indian origin students in the United Kingdom are anxious about their future as the British government has imposed complete lockdown for up to six months to control the spread of coronavirus. The High Commission of India in London has assured help to Indian students caught in the lockdown.

However, students are finding it difficult to survive. Many have lost their part-time jobs and now face financial struggle. The students are also worried about the rising number of cases of coronavirus infections being reported in the country.

In a video shared by women students with Careers360 , they alleged they are not getting rent relief from the private landlords. One of them said: “Having no part-time job, it's hard to support ourselves. If the lockdown continues we will starve to death.” Another student can be heard saying they have no money to pay room rent or to buy food.

The British government has granted visa extensions until May 31 to all the Indian citizens currently in the UK, who are not able to travel to India due to travel bans in various countries.

No relief
Students are also claiming that have not got any relief from the Indian government so far. They are worried that even if they manage to get some help, there is no guarantee about the stocks (food and other essential items). “We want the Indian government to provide sos emergency service as a form of evacuation similar to what they have done in China, Iran, Italy,” said a student.

Debanjan Mondal, a PhD students at the University of Huddersfield, told Careers360 : “We want to go back to India. At present, the UK is under complete lockdown. All the businesses, pubs, restaurants are closed. Supermarkets are opened but necessary commodities are mostly out of stock. Complete home isolation – people are not taking it seriously.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had initially adopted the “herd immunity” strategy to handle the coronavirus. On Friday, he announced that he had tested positive as well and was going to self-isolate.

Wrote to PM

Mondal said he has also written to the prime minister, Narendra Modi, but has not got any response yet. He said that if evacuation is not possible, the Indian government should arrange for some alternatives like providing financial help, “so that we can stay here safely”.

Last week, the Indian High Commission in London announced that it would help arrange accommodation for stranded students. Some were provided accommodation at the High Commission itself initially and later moved to nearby hotels.

Many of the Indian students, who booked last-minute tickets to reach India before March 22 to beat the travel restrictions got stranded at various airports in the UK as they were required to get the High Commission’s permission to board flights leaving for India.

Indian Nationals Student Association (INSA) in the UK has assured all help to Indian students in the time of global crisis. The number of cases has surged to 14,500 with more than 700 casualties in the UK. Amit Tiwari, President, INSA said: "We have a national team which is manning phones, emails and all our social media channels and has received 1800 plus queries via social media queries, 600 plus emails and 700 telephone calls at all times. We have a team of 20 plus medical practitioners on hand for general guidance and advise."

Careers360 has approached the Universities UK, organisation of all the universities in the UK; Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in India and also the Indian High Commission in London to understand if some arrangements are being made to bring back these stranded students to India or to help them in the UK. At the time of filing, they had not responded. If they do, the copy will be updated to include their comments.

Also read:

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak: Latest Updates
• COVID-19: Indian medical students’ ordeal at Kuala Lumpur airport

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