A Gravesend man trapped in India with his elderly mother says he is no closer to returning home despite nationals from other countries securing rescue flights.

Surjit Atwal has been stuck in lockdown with his elderly 83-year-old mother in the village of Uttal on the outskirts of Jalandhar for the past two weeks.

He is one of more than 100 Gravesham residents left stranded in the Punjab region, where a stringent curfew is in place.

The 56 year-old travelled to the heart of India's Sikh community in February to carry out work on the family home and had a flight booked to return last Sunday.

But this was cancelled following the Indian Government's three-week lockdown beginning on March 21.

Since then it has not been possible to step outside with the rules strictly enforced by the Punjab police.

In his village, he says officers were swiftly dispatched after reports a man from Italy believed to have the virus had been seen entering the local Gurdwara.

The Gravesend Gurdwara member said: "It was quite scary at first. Nothing was open, no shops, no medicines, no nothing.

"We had a little bit of flour and some vegetables. Luckily mum is good at putting stuff together."

He has since been relying on food deliveries but says these do not carry anything substantial other than a few bits from the market.

Yesterday, Surjit managed to book a flight with the same operator he was due to return with, Virgin Atlantic, but claims this was cancelled the same day.

"They took my money." he said. "They are not helping at all. All we get is automated messages."

Virgin Atlantic has now confirmed it is not currently operating scheduled passenger services between London and Delhi.

A spokesman said: “Following the rapid acceleration of Covid-19 and extensive travel restrictions, coupled with a sharp drop in customer demand, Virgin Atlantic has reduced its flying schedule and is flying to far fewer destinations.

"However, we know that some of our customers are still away from home. If a Virgin Atlantic customer's flight has been cancelled and they are away from home, they must register their contact details on our away from home form and also contact their local Embassy."

Where a flight is cancelled, the company said customers would be entitled to a full refund but added it may take up to 90 days to process.

Surjit says he has been regularly checking the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) page for updates of either new commercial or rescue flights.

"We are not getting any information," he said. "It is the uncertainty more than anything."

To worsen matters, news has filtered through that the German government has secured rescue flights homes for its citizens.

But with no connections via his nearest airport at Amritsar, Surjit says it is not clear how they will be able to make the eight hour cross-country journey to grab a flight, even if one was available.

The only regular contact Surjit says he has had is with Cllr Brian Sangha, who is also among the stranded group of Gravesendians.

Last week, the Pelham ward councillor, who is stuck in a hotel in Jalandhar, claimed European visitors were being treated as pariahs by the police.

"Some of the families in our group are elderly and they are beginning to show signs of anxiety and mental distress," he told KentOnline.

"In one village they put a label outside their door saying 'coronavirus immigrants' - they're from Gravesend."

Cllr Sangha has since set up a "virtual support network" for stranded members of the Gravesend Gurdwara community using Facebook and Whatsapp.

"In one village they put a label outside their door saying 'coronavirus immigrants' - they're from Gravesend."

Liasing on their behalf he says the police approach has been less militant, although a strong presence remains.

But he says despite being the country of their birth they are very much regarded as outsiders.

He said: "As long as we are forthcoming with information they don't feel they have to be as forceful."

What has been more frustrating, he says, is the response from the FCO in Delhi which he described as "non-communicative".

"The overall feeling is that the announcement by the Foreign Secretary is great but it hasn't resulted in any positive action on the ground," he said.

"Sometimes a human response is needed. We are doing what we can to try and persuade the government but we can only do so much."

The Foreign Secretary spoke with his Indian counterpart last week to discuss measures needed to help bring UK and Indian nationals back home.

It said it would post details of flights when available and encouraged people to keep checking its travel advice page.

An FCO spokesman said: “We know it’s a difficult time for many British travellers abroad – especially those with challenging circumstances.

“Our consular teams are doing everything they can, especially for those in difficulty, to keep Brits informed on the latest developments and help them return - on commercial flights where they are still available or special charter flights as well.

The Indian Government has also confirmed it would allow visitors to extend their visas at no extra cost until April 15.

Cllr Sangha believes the best approach might be to wait it out until then.

But even this he says is fraught with difficulties with medicine for older family members running low.

Despite this he remains confident they will pull through adding: "We come from a town where there is a lot of experience of racial harmony.

"We come from the Sikh religion where we believe in passion honesty and support."

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