Ngākuru School 7-year-old Harriet Grainger-Allen delivers a mock news broadcast about the Covid-19 lock down.
Free food parcels being handed out to Indian nationals stuck in New Zealand by the Indian High Commission is a "welcome relief" to hundreds who are running out of money, a charity says.
Free food parcels being handed to needy Indians outside the India Consulate Office in Auckland. Photo / Supplied.
Hundreds of Indian nationals ventured out of their lockdown accommodations this morning to collect free packs ofIndian groceries from outside the Indian Consulate office in Onehunga.
Under a government-managed exit plan, thousands of foreigners stranded in New Zealand under the Covid-19 lockdown started leaving on Friday - but Indians have been unable to do so because of India's international flights ban.
An Indian Government advisory stated that all scheduled international commercial passenger services will remain closed until April 14, 2020.
Here, officials said about 37,000 tourists had signed up with their various embassies seeking to return home, but Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in an interview with Radio New Zealand said the true number seeking to leave was about 100,000.
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The Indian High Commission sent a notice through Facebook inviting "stranded, needy Indian nationals in Auckland to pick up free grocery packs" at the consulate office between 10 and 12am today.
Jeet Suchdev, of Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust, said the line started to form long before the handouts started.
"The situation is just getting worse for the many Indians stuck here as they run out of money for food and accommodation, and many are in a desperate state," Suchdev said.
"The free food packages by the India Consulate are a welcome relief, but how are they going to survive another few weeks at least."
Suchdev said his charity was also distributing between 20 and 50 food parcels on a daily basis to other needy Indians.
"They have nowhere to turn to because they don't qualify for government help packages, and unlike other foreign nationals, the announced government exit plan is of no use to them because flights are blocked by India," Suchdev said.
• Foreign nationals returning home will be considered to be engaging in "essential travel", and therefore able to travel domestically (whether by air or land) when they have a confirmed and scheduled international flight out of New Zealand, subject to requirements which will be set out on www.covid19.govt.nz
• Foreign governments will be allowed to organise charter flights to repatriate their citizens, but only if they can satisfy New Zealand health requirements
• Commercial capacity between New Zealand and Europe will be increased, by New Zealand approving a second daily flight between Doha and Auckland by Qatar Airways.
