In war-torn West Asia, all roads lead to Dubai

Kolkata: All roads now lead to Dubai airport as hundreds of Indians stuck in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have started heading towards the city following the resumption of limited scheduled flights from there to multiple cities in India since Wednesday night.

"We were staying at a hotel in Abu Dhabi since Sunday after we were caught in the war-like situation. I was scheduled to fly to Kolkata on March 4, but that flight was cancelled. Now that flight movement slowly resumed, I drove from Abu Dhabi to Dubai on Thursday and am putting up with a friend near the airport. I booked a ticket on March 8, hoping that flight would operate according to schedule," said Upasana Sinha, a techie from New Town who went to Dubai with a friend last week.


Bamapada Ganguly (63), owner of a private tour company who was stuck in a Dubai hotel since March 2 with his 19 clients, is set to board a FlyDubai flight to Kochi on Thursday after three cancellations of rescheduled Emirates flights.

"The next Emirates rescheduled flight will be on March 8, but as we are all worried and no one wants to stay here, we all spent extra on tickets in a rerouted way. Once we land in Kochi, we will take a connecting flight to Kolkata," Ganguly said.

Sanjukta Roy (30), a Maniktala resident who travelled to the UAE with her elderly parents, is also in Dubai, spending sleepless nights at a hotel. Their scheduled return on March 1 was cancelled and rescheduled to March 7, Saturday. "The hotel authority tried to charge almost triple the rate during our extended stay. And we even booked three fresh tickets on Emirates Airlines for March 4. But they were cancelled too," said Roy.

A retired bank employee, Saroj Kumar Datta (74), turned restless and fainted after hearing that the rescheduled flight on March 3 had been cancelled. He was accompanied by his wife, who is also a senior citizen.

Premdhar Mondal (75), a former professor of physics, suffered from acute anxiety. "I have only a few heart and blood-pressure medicines left for my daily consumption," said Mondal, a Purulia resident, adding that the medicine price in Dubai is 500% to 3,000% higher.

For Kolkata couple Ankana Sadhukhan and S M Mehdi Hasan (both 33), living in a high-rise on the Dubai–Sharjah border, the past few days have been deeply unsettling. The couple, who moved to the UAE in 2021 and have a one-year-old son, said their peaceful life suddenly turned into a nightmare when they heard missiles and drones for the first time last week.

"Since then, there have been frequent interception sounds and vibrations after missile strikes. Emergency alerts on phones warning us about possible attacks and advising us to seek shelter away from doors and windows are a common thing. Nights have become the most stressful, as many strikes occur after dark," said Tollygunge girl Ankana, adding that they often stay awake at night, fearing they might miss an alert.