Elderly stuck in Delhi seek early return to Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: There seems to be no respite in sight for the city’s senior citizens, who are quarantined in Delhi hotels after returning from the US. Even though, they have all tested negative for Covid-19, they are still stuck in Delhi. While they have recently been shifted to new hotels, from the star facilities that they were initially housed in, they say that the bills are still mounting — over Rs 1 lakh in some cases — and many are fast running out of medicines.
On Monday, some of the family members made a fresh appeal to the state and central government asking them to arrange for their return to the city as soon as possible.
“Since my parents were over 60 years, they were sent to the quarantine facility on landing in India, from San Francisco on March 22. Now, they have completed their 14-day period and have tested negative for coronavirus. I sincerely hope the authorities help them return to Hyderabad as I fear, they might slip into depression otherwise,” said Raju Puppala and added that the ordeal is draining his parents emotionally and monetarily.
“They have limited stock of medicine and cannot speak any other language but Telugu, which makes communication difficult. Also, we have already paid Rs 70,000 for the previous hotel and the new one will cost us another Rs 40,000...there are at least 60 other families sailing in the same boat,” he said.
Making a similar appeal — to airlift the elderly stranded in Delhi — Naveen Amaravadi, whose parents flew in from New Jersey, said that it would benefit people if the government extends financial support to them. “They still have no idea when they will be able to return home. I think thats making them more anxious. Thankfully my father has medical supplies till the end of the month,” Amaravadi said from Toronto. His parents are paying Rs 4,600 per day for their quarantine facility.