Shubham Dharmsktu was in Jaisalmer on the day India observed an eight-hour lockdown on the 20th March to thank the health professionals fighting coronavirus. People remained inside to observe the lockdown. However, some had nowhere to go.
He found a South African girl crying because her hotel had apparently thrown her out and she had nowhere to go.
“She went to desert safari for a day, and when she came back, she found her luggage thrown out on the road. She was crying when I met her,” says Shubham, a Mumbai-based filmmaker who makes travel films.
He shares what he experienced in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
Shubham Dharmsaktu Source: Supplied
“I was in Jaisalmer with my friends. It was before the curfew. And suddenly everything started falling apart. People started panicking. The locals were suddenly panicking about the cases of coronavirus.
"They were thinking that all the foreigners who were coming from different parts of the world had coronavirus. Most of them had only half the information about it. So people were going crazy. Almost every foreigner was thrown out of their hostels or hotels.”
Shubham says a rumour that all transportation would stop from the next day caused a panic.
“So most of the international tourists had no options because they did not have any stay or transport also.”
Shubham decided to help them. He gathered some stranded tourists who were thrown out of the hotels and were in a state of panic.
“We took the last train from Jaisalmer to Delhi on 21 March, the previous day before the lockdown.
Source: Supplied
On the train, I found more people. So we were around 12 people from Spain, France, South Africa, Australia and the Czech Republic. And we came to Delhi on the first day of the curfew.”
“I called 50-100 people in Delhi to make boarding and lodging arrangements for these tourists. The moment I told I had foreigners with me, people said we wouldn’t take any foreigners any more, or they were closing down.”
After much deliberation, somebody responded positively to Shubham’s appeal.
“I got to know about this place called DATStop in Vasantkunj near Delhi Airport. Owner of this international hostel was very welcoming. I explained the situation to him, and he invited us at his place,” Shubham told SBS Hindi.
At DATStop, he found that many other foreign tourists had taken refuge, but many more were still out there stranded and helpless.
He says, “I got to know a lot of stories from these guys that people were stuck all over India. I put up an emergency message on my Instagram that this my phone number and if anyone is stuck in any part of the country, please call me or Whatsapp me.”
Shubham’s Instagram post went viral, and soon people from all over India started calling him.
“I was receiving more than 100 calls every day. And I started helping each one of them. So far I have helped over 300 people with boarding, lodging, food, tickets and travelling,” says Shubham, who is using his local contacts to find the places for people stranded in different cities.
Many people are not able to go back to their homes because “the flight tickets are too costly to afford. So they are waiting for the things to go back to normal.”
However, some people whom Shubham helped have reached back to their home countries. They have expressed gratitude with images and videos from back at home.
“I have received calls and videos of their homes. They are very thankful. They are really happy and sending me all the cool photos from their countries,” explains Shubham with satisfaction.
He has heard many heart-breaking stories which gave him the strength to keep helping people.
“An Italian man I met, has been coming to India for the last 50 years. And now, he was sleeping on the benches and public parks because he did not get a place to sleep. I am working alone mostly, but some people from different states have joined us to help the people in their vicinity.”
Now Shubham’s savings are draining and he is trying to raise funds to help others. He wants tourists to go home with a feeling that India is warm and welcoming in every situation.
India is famous for its hospitality. We say guests are gods for us. So I really wanted to take care of them.
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has launched ‘’ a web portal to reach out to foreign nationals who are stuck in India due to the lockdown.
“Stranded in India is a portal to disseminate information regarding the services that can be availed by foreign tourists stuck far away from their homeland. The portal aims to act as a support network for foreign tourists stuck in various parts of the country,” said a statement released by the ministry.
