He got permission to leave Australia.
But while his father survived, he s now one of 9500 Aussies stranded in the country.
His wife Isha, who is six months pregnant, is waiting in Sydney with the couple s son Viaan, three.
And while Mr Yagnik was lucky to secure a spot on one of DFAT s $1500 flights into Darwin earlier this month, it was cancelled amid the controversial travel ban, with Indian Aussies threatened with jail if they managed to get back another way.
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Mr Yagnik said he s struggling to cope being stuck in India, with his pregnant wife in Sydney.(Supplied)
As India is being devastated by COVID-19 cases that have now passed a daily rate of 400,000, affluent and callous Australia has taken the decision to suspend all flights coming into the country till mid-month. The decision was reached by the Morrison government with the blessing of the State Premiers and the Labor opposition.
Not happy with banning flights from India, the Morrison government promises to be savage in punishing returnees who find ways to circumvent the ban (for instance, by travelling via a third country). Citizens who breach the travel ban can face up to five years’ imprisonment and fines up to AU$66,000. “We have taken drastic action to keep Australians safe,” explained he Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. The situation in India was “serious”; the decision had only been reached after considering the medical advice.
Stranded Australian citizens petition the United Nations
The Australian government’s actions in effectively denying the fundamental democratic right of tens of thousands of citizens to return to the country, amid the worsening global COVID-19 pandemic, are so egregious that a United Nations body has declared them unlawful.
The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) ruled that the government must “facilitate and ensure the prompt return to Australia” of three citizens who have been stranded overseas since the pandemic began.
Air New Zealand flight arriving at Sydney airport (Source: Wikipedia)
The three citizens filed a complaint with the UNHRC against the Liberal-National government on the grounds they have been denied a basic human right to return to their country of citizenship.
Sunday, 2 May 2021, 4:59 pm
As India is being devastated by COVID-19 cases that have
now passed a daily rate of 400,000, affluent and callous
Australia has taken the decision to suspend all flights
coming into the country till mid-month. The decision was
reached by the Morrison government with the blessing of the
State Premiers and the Labor opposition.
Not happy
with banning flights from India, the Morrison government
promises to be savage in punishing returnees who find ways
to circumvent the ban (for instance, by travelling via a
third country). Citizens who breach the travel ban can face
up to five years’ imprisonment and fines up to AU$66,000.
UN Human Rights Commission makes ruling on Australian border for stranded citizens16/04/2021|6min
The United Nations Human Rights Commission has ruled Australia must quickly help two stranded citizens return home after they argued the federal government’s border policy breached human rights laws.
The two men, Alex and Jason, said their ability to return home is an absolute right which should not be blocked by government-imposed travel caps.
Free and Open Australia campaign spokesperson Deb Tellis told Sky News the ruling was a “great victory” and she was awaiting the government’s response.
“When you consider the situation, we’ve got 40,000 Australians still stranded overseas and the number’s not going down,” she said.