Chennai: Indian fishermen who returned to the country from Iran have praised the Indian Embassy and the government for its assistance in facilitating safe evacuation amid the tense regional situation. Fisherman Rajesh Patel from Gujarat’s Valsad, who had been working as a fisherman in the Kiru region of Iran for the past four years, said he and others were forced to leave due to escalating unrest. He stated that the situation there was “quite chaotic”, noting the role of the Indian embassy in Tehran in assisting the stranded fishermen to get them back home safely.
“I came back from the Kiru region of Iran. I work as a fisherman. I had been there for four years”, Patel said. “Things got quite chaotic over there recently. That’s why we had to leave. The Indian Embassy provided us with a great deal of assistance in getting out. It would have been extremely difficult for us to leave on our own, but the entire Indian Embassy machinery set up support centres everywhere, in every state, so we were able to get out and return safely. The Indian government helped us in Iran from Armenia to get us back home in India”, he added.
Another fisherman from the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu described the difficult conditions they faced before their return, saying they were caught in a life-threatening situation. “Per day, nearly 10 to 20 bombs fell before us. With great difficulty, holding our lives in our hands, we came here safely. We thank our government very much”, he said. The returning fishermen expressed gratitude to the Indian authorities for coordinating their evacuation and ensuring their safe return to India amid the crisis. The fishermen returned to the country on April 11, Saturday night and were welcomed by Union Minister for Commerce Piyush Goyal at the Chennai International Airport.
Speaking to reporters at the airport following their arrival, Minister Goyal said the evacuation was carried out following directions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with coordinated efforts by the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) and Indian missions abroad to relocate the stranded fishermen from Iran to Armenia before bringing them back to India. “Our Prime Minister gave instructions to the Foreign Ministry and they worked very hard to move them from Iran to Armenia. From Armenia, we got some good people to support us in getting them back because they are very poor fishermen. In the first batch, 345 came. Today, 300+ came”, Piyush Goyal stated.
“The Prime Minister has always cared for all the people who are stuck in any crisis. This once again demonstrates how much he cares for our fishermen who were unfortunately stuck in the middle of the war in Iran. They have been brought out from right inside Iran”, the Union Minister said. He further informed that over 600 Indian fishermen have been safely brought back from Iran so far, with the assistance of Indian embassies in Iran and Armenia. The returnees include fishermen primarily from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Puducherry”, Piyush Goyal further added.
Earlier on April 11, Friday, during the inter-ministerial briefing on the recent developments in West Asia, the MEA stated that the Embassy of India in Tehran has facilitated the movement of 2,180 Indian nationals from Iran to Armenia and Azerbaijan for onwards travel to India, including 981 Indian students and 657 Indian fishermen.
(With Inputs from ANI)
