Queen Elizabeth II heard at length from a Kolkata-based Indian consular officer at a British Deputy High Commission about the close collaboration between the U.K. and India during the repatriation efforts related to the COVID-19<\/a> pandemic lockdown.<\/p>\n Also read: 4 nations to use Air India to repatriate their citizens<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Sanjibita Tariang, who works at the British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, narrated her experience on July 24 of helping stranded British travellers get home during India\u2019s lockdown.<\/p>\n She described how the U.K. in India team rose to unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19 and helped repatriate stranded British citizens back to the U.K. through collaborative working between Indian and British authorities.<\/p>\n Organising the repatriation flights was a huge and complex operation involving thorough planning and coordination. We also had to obtain movement permissions during a nationwide lockdown \u2014 the main challenge was to organise transport from remote places like Meghalaya and Manipur for a journey spanning 32 hours, said Ms. Tariang, Regional Consular Development Officer at British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata.<\/p>\n