Indians in Yemen live under fear, await rescue

BENGALURU: Even as 80 people were evacuated by air by Indian authorities from Yemen, about 450km away from capital city Sana'a, in the city of Aden approximately 550 Indians are waiting to hear about the Indian government’s plan for their rescue.
Cut off completely from the capital city, people here are running short of food and supplies. With the firing and bombardment getting heavier by the day and Indian embassy officials not providing a concrete plans for rescue, their fears are only escalating.
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Fierce fighting has been reported in Yemen's coastal city of Aden as Houthi rebels continued their push south despite Saudi-led airstrikes.Nearly 100 people are reported to have been killed in the violence in Aden in recent days.
Yunus Shabandri, a native of Bhatkal and employee of a rice trading company, took a Bihari family into his house on Sunday, after bombardment happened very close to the Bihari, Wassem’s family.
"It is only a matter of time we run out of supplies. I have some rice and basic supplies because I worked at a trading company, but others are not doing that well. But more than anything what is need to government tell how exactly they are planning to get us out," he said.
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More than himself, Yunus is worried about his two girls and a boy, all of them less than 10 years of age. "Standing at the balcony of the building we can see bombs dropping. I have my wife, children and a cousin with me. We are hoping there is a plan to at least get our children out of here soon," said Yusus, who has been working in Yemen for past 8 years.
On Monday morning, at Mahatma Gandhi School in Aden, Indian community had a meeting. Members of the Indian association tried calling the Indian embassy but replay was uncertain and vague.
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"Everyone is concentrating on Sana’a at the moment. Initially they said we would be taken out in ships and then said it would be in flights. The streets are not safe anymore, everyone on the road has a gun in hand. Our request is make a clear plan quickly and communicate it to us," said Sridhar BR, project manager, HSA group of companies, who is among the stranded Indians.
Ravi Kumar, an engineer from Bengaluru, stranded in Sana'a was among the 260 Indians who had come to Sana'a airport hoping for a flight back home, however there was no flight. "We were told those who were ready to leave will be provided flight but when we got here, there was no flight. Apparently Indian authorities were not given permission land," he said.