Singapore granny stranded in India returns after delays and misadventures

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's assurance that no Singaporean abroad would be left behind took on a deeper meaning for Madam Jasbir Kaur.

The Singaporean was stranded in India for almost a month because of that nation's coronavirus lockdown.

What was meant to be a 12-day holiday became an ordeal. She had to watch her travel companions get repatriated to Malaysia before undertaking her own journey 12 days later to return to Singapore.

The 400km road trip from Moga in the northern state of Punjab to New Delhi was fraught with misadventures, including a broken-down vehicle and issues with the police.

The 65-year-old retiree was among 699 Singapore citizens and residents evacuated from India last week.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement last week: "Due to the national lockdown across India, many of them had to travel from surrounding states to reach the airports in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, from where the chartered flights operated."

Madam Kaur told The New Paper that despite scheduling her return flight on March 23, before India's Covid-19 control measures took effect, she was unable to make it back to Singapore.

India went into lockdown on March 25 in an attempt to curb the spread of the disease. Over 10,000 people across the nation have now been infected, with more than 300 recorded deaths.

"My flight back from Amritsar was on March 23. But we went to the airport on March 21 because my daughter in Singapore, Hardip, told me she had heard one last flight was coming back to Singapore," said Madam Kaur, who is now in 14 days of self-isolation at Pan Pacific Singapore.

"But when we got to the airport, they said the flight had left one day earlier, and our flight on the 23rd was cancelled."

Madam Kaur and her travel companions - her other daughter Harinder, 38, sister-in-law Spal Kaur, 70, and niece Navinder Kaur, 45, all of whom live in Malaysia - returned to Moga, where they had been staying with relatives.

EXTRA WEEK'S MEDICINE

While Madam Kaur had an extra week's dosage of medicine, which she takes after cancer surgery two years ago and for high blood pressure - it would run out because of her extended stay.

"When my flight got cancelled, I was worried that I wouldn't have enough medicine," she said.

"But luckily, we knew a doctor in Chandigarh who stayed with us when he took an exam in Singapore. My daughter called him, and he managed to send the medicine."

As Madam Kaur's family in Singapore contacted the authorities to try to arrange for her return, her travel companions received word that they would be repatriated to Kuala Lumpur on March 30.

She said Harinder's husband, who had remained in Malaysia with their two children, tried to arrange for her to follow them back to KL, but it could not be done because Malaysia was also in lockdown.

Madam Kaur said: "I was very sad. I felt as though I was going to be there forever. The day they left, I really cried...

"I called Hardip and asked her if Malaysia managed to bring them back so fast, why is Singapore taking so long?

"But she told me I had to be strong and not worry as she would make the arrangements. So after a couple of days, I told myself, don't worry, my day will come."

Her day finally arrived on April 10, but even that proved to be a bumpy ride home.

"My flight back was at 9pm on April 10, and the vehicle came to pick me up at 8.40am," said Madam Kaur, who shared the ride with five other passengers.

"But along the way, it broke down and we had to wait for two hours for another vehicle. Later on, we were stopped by the Delhi police.

"They wouldn't let us go to the airport because it was a different vehicle than the one on their list. We called MFA and after half an hour, the police finally let us through.

"We reached the airport late, but they had delayed the flight for 40 minutes to wait for us."

Madam Kaur arrived in Singapore the following day, and despite having to spend another 14 days away from her family, she is in good spirits now.

Besides the twice-daily temperature checks and daily calls from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, she keeps busy watching TV and YouTube, chatting with friends and family over the phone and praying.

Madam Kaur said: "Now that I'm back in Singapore, I feel very happy and safe. Even though it is 14 days, I don't mind...

"Every day, they leave the food outside (the room) and they give us timings (for the deliveries). We're well taken care of.

"Now I'm just counting the days till I can go home."