New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS): The relatives of Afghan Sikhs and Indian nationals had to wait for long hours at the IGI airport to receive them before the Union Health Ministry announced that all the evacuees will have to undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days at the ITBP camp in Chhawla in Najafgarh.

Many Sikh families were waiting since morning at the airport for their relatives, who returned from Afghanistan on a special Air India flight on Tuesday. However, they couldn't meet their near and dear ones as they were shunted for the mandatory 14-day quarantine at the ITBP facility.

With the government making efforts to airlift Indian as well as Afghan nationals from the war-torn Afghanistan, a 14-day quarantine has been made mandatory for all the evacuees landing at the IGI Airport here.

The decision turned the hopes and excitement of the relatives into sorrow and disappointment.

Charanjeet Singh, an Afghan national who was waiting since morning for his relatives coming from Afghanistan, said, "We came here to receive my sister-in-law who is a widow and lives in Jalalabad with her child. Though we couldn't meet her, we are at least hopeful that she will be safe in the ITBP quarantine centre."

He also expressed his dismay as their long waiting period proved to be useless.

Another evacuee, Kapil, who hails from Ghaziabad and works for a private company in Kabul, thanked the Indian government for the safe evacuation from Afghanistan.

"I will meet my family members after completing the quarantine period," he said.

All the evacuees from Afghanistan will have to go for quarantine irrespective of their Covid reports.

RT-PCR tests were conducted on 78 Indian and Afghan nationals returning from Afghanistan on Tuesday. None of the reports have returned positive so far. Yet, all will need to undergo the 14-day mandatory quarantine period.