With inputs from Rohan Dua

NEW DELHI: Several Indians stuck in China's Wuhan are waiting with bags packed for their evacuation by India from the coronavirus-hit city, but said there was still no clarity on when they would be able to leave.A day after the Union health ministry said Indians stranded in Wuhan would likely to be brought home on February 26, many Indians told TOI that the anxiety is playing havoc with their minds. A majority of them have remained confined to their homes for a month now as the city has remained under complete lockdown.“Every morning I wake up hoping that this will be the day we are told we are being taken to India, but by evening I lose hope again,” said a senior scientist in Wuhan who hails from Saharanpur (UP).On Tuesday, a message from the Indian embassy in Beijing on a Wechat group — which has 100 members waiting to be evacuated — asked members to “prepare for departure tomorrow morning (Wednesday)” but added that the arrangements were “still subject to change”. Earlier, official sources had said China was delaying clearance to the military transport aircraft which was to fly to Wuhan on February 20.Meanwhile, the Indians in Wuhan had signed consent forms for evacuation on February 19 itself and have been waiting since then. Ready with their luggage, they had then informed their families they were coming home.“It’s been a week since then,” the scientist at an R&D firm who’s been in Wuhan for six years now said, adding that he is surviving on ready-to-eat soup sachets he brought from India when he last visited in October. “Until February 16, supermarkets were open but now gates of the apartment complex are closed. Only those with a special permit can enter or exit. I had run out of food two weeks ago but my Chinese neighbours contacted authorities who gave me rations free of charge. But now the stock is over. How many times can I bother my neighbours? I don'y have much left.”In another apartment, an Indian from Himachal Pradesh employed with a biopharma company, said he hasn’t seen a soul in over 30 days. “When we need something, we contact community leaders (similar to RWA presidents). Items are delivered to the doorstep and we receive a text alert. There is no human contact,” he said.At the Wuhan Textile University , associate professor Ashish Yadav and wife, Neha, have been stocking up masks, sanitisers and disinfectant sprays. The couple was not evacuated earlier as Neha was on bed rest following a surgery but their worries have grown since three hostel buildings in the varsity, a few metres away, have been turned into medical wards to keep suspected coronavirus patients in isolation.The coronavirus scare has prompted at least two Indians to hand in their resignations. Akshay Vats, who works with a two-wheeler manufacturing firm in Hubei , said the company has told him that quitting would be in violation of his contract. “I won’t get dues of 80,000 yuan (Rs 8 lakh approx) and I’m also being asked to forfeit my salary in lieu of notice period.” Vats, however, added that he was facing pressure from his concerned family to return.A sales agent with a Hong Kong-headquartered casino operator has also been told to pay back the money for medical insurance and housing loan that his company had offered as part of his salary component. “I can’t arrange so much money at a moment’s notice. Companies need to show more compassion in such cases.”The hardships have mounted. While the scientist is surviving on soup, another has been living in a hotel. At least two Indian professionals who decided to quit their jobs and leave China permanently now face penalties for violation of contracts.With evacuation delayed, other issues have cropped up. Several Chinese companies are slated to open on the second week of March and expat workers have been told that if they are not back when offices open, it will be counted as leave without pay.Many have even offered to pay for their tickets, if that helps speed things up. Like one 33-year-old chef at a five-star hotel who had to abandon his apartment after he ran out of food and necessities. “My company was quick to offer me a guest room at the hotel, otherwise I don’t know what would have happened. I just want to go home even if that means buying my own ticket,” he said.