Soundarya Jayamala, daughter of actress-politician Jayamala, is one among the 100s of students stranded in London due to the lockdown over Coronavirus outbreak. She is studying a four-year bachelor degree in zoology at Swansea University.
Final Exams Delayed her Return
The final exams were suppose to be held in April, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ever since the lectures completed in April, the actress wanted to come to India. Her attempt to return to India in the last flight before the lockdown was imposed in March last week did not come to fruition.
Now, she is desperate to return to India since the situation is getting worse after a professor died due to COVID-19 and two other tested positive in her universtiy. "I feel very unsafe. There is no social distancing. I am worried about leaving my apartment. It is so scary to even buy groceries. I am worried about catching Covid. The procedure to contact a hospital here is so long," The Times of India quoted her as saying and added, "It is not what I am used to. Back home we can see a doctor immediately. I have not been out of my flat at all. It is safer for me to be in India,"
Spent 17 Hours in Dubai
The 29-year old had boarded the last flight to India from the UK before the lockdown was imposed, but she and three others were sent back once they reached to Dubai. In fact, they were stranded for 17 hours, before sending her back to the UK in Dubai.
The Godfather girl claims that she stays alone and her visa-tenancy contract are going to expire soon. "There were people in the airport coughing and ambulances coming back and forth carrying people who could not breathe. We did not have anywhere to sit as so many flights were cancelled. People were sleeping on the floor. It was traumatic. I wasn't tested for Covid in any of the airports. They didn't even check my temperature," the daughter of Dr Jayamala further added.
Luckily, she managed to get her apartment back although she had returned the keys to her landlady.
Meanwhile, over 300 people, stranded in London, have returned to Bengaluru from London by a special Air India flight on the fifth day of Vande Bharat Mission on Monday, 11 May. However, there is no confirmation on whether she has arrived in the flight or not.
