Bengaluru, March 24: With the Government of India suspending all domestic airline services from March 25 amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, a group of Kashmiri students held protest at Bengaluru Airport on Monday asking the government how they would return to their state. The Kashmiri students have requested the government to take them back to their home.

Upset with the suspension of the domestic flights by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, one of the Kashmiri students said, as quoted by news agecny ANI, "We've booked tickets to Kashmir for flights scheduled on 27&28 March; now this order has been issued. What will we do now?" Shaheen Bagh Protest Site Cleared, Security Tightened Amid Imposition of Section 144 and Delhi Lockdown as COVID-19 Cases Rise.

Here's the ANI tweet:

Earlier on Monday, the Union government in a statement said that no domestic commercial passenger flight would be allowed to operate in the country from March 25 onward. The decision was taken by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry in order to restrict travel amid the coronavirus pandemic. The government had already banned international flights for a week from Sunday.

Apart from this, a total of 30 states and union territories were put under lockdown till at least March 31. The cumulative area put under prohibitory measures include 548 out of the 720 districts of India. The provinces where statewide lockdown has not been imposed include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. The three states have exempted certain areas from the restrictions. Among the union territories, Lakshadweep Islands has put certain restrictions. Till now India recorded 75 new cases of coronavirus, taking the overall toll of COVID-19 patients in the nation to 471. The fatality toll also jumped to 9.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2020 09:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).