Highlights
- Vivek Raj Singh and Vijeta will be two of the 150 passengers on the first resumed repatriation flight from India
- Stranded in India for 18 months, Mr Singh lost his job and house in Adelaide
- His wife will enter Australia for the first time and go straight into quarantine at Howard Springs
The first resumed repatriation flight for Australians stranded in India is set to fly out of New Delhi on 14 May at 8 pm local time. Australians who have been stranded in India for months together, will finally be able to return home and go into quarantine in the Northern Territory.
Vivek Raj Singh and wife Vijeta, scheduled to be on that flight, are currently quarantining on the 37th floor of a New Delhi hotel, in preparation to meet the requirements for the flight.
A permanent resident of Australia, Mr Singh had travelled to India in November 2019 for his wedding. He hails from Kurukshetra, a city in the northern state of Haryana.
As he brings his wife, Vijeta, to Australia for the first time, they will arrive at Darwin and head to the Howard Springs quarantine facility.
“I got married in January 2020, but couldn’t return to Australia. I managed to receive my invitation from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for this flight only after six cancellations,” he told SBS Hindi over the phone.
Vivek Raj Singh had travelled to India to marry Vijeta in November 2019. Source: Supplied by Vivek Raj Singh
Last year, DFAT, through their local diplomatic missions, had been clearing names of passengers for Australia-bound on a first-come-first-served basis. With limited flights plying this sector, this had made the booking of flights a race for people stranded overseas.
This time around, Mr Singh told SBS Hindi that DFAT had a different criterion for passengers to book tickets.
“DFAT sent out invitations this time on the basis of your personal circumstances, like the length time for you’ve been stuck in India and health vulnerability. We received a unique code from Qantas, and could book tickets only through that code,” Mr Singh said.
Two tickets cost the couple almost $3,000 (INR 169,000), which includes lodging and meals for three days in a hotel in Delhi while they quarantine before boarding the Qantas flight.
Struggles await in Australia
Mr Singh had first come to Australia in 2014. He worked at a five-star hotel as a sous chef in Adelaide.
The 18-month long stay in India has seen him lose his job and house.
He now plans to move to Perth in the future.
I do not have any savings left. Savings don't last you a year-and-a-half. If all goes well from here on, I will move to Perth with Vijeta and start a new life with a new job, Mr Singh said.
“Our tickets included a three-day quarantine in Delhi. We do not know how much the quarantine in Darwin would cost,” he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison had announced last week that there can be as many as six repatriation flights from India in a month.
States like New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria had agreed to accept additional flights.
But Mr Singh feels more flights will be needed to bring back Australians at the earliest as the coronavirus situation in India is dire.
“There are around 9,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents stuck here. The government needs to run three-four flights a week to ensure all of us are back home over the next two-to-three months,” he suggested.
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