A Bathinda-based educationist couple is among those stranded in Dubai after airport operations were temporarily shut due to rising tensions in the Middle East amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict.Neeru Garg, Principal of SSD Girls’ College, Bathinda, and her husband Parveen Garg, who recently retired as Vice-Principal of DAV College here, had travelled to Dubai on a leisure trip. The couple was scheduled to board their return flight on Saturday, but their plans were disrupted following the sudden closure of airport operations.Neeru Garg has since sought the Centre’s intervention for evacuation through a video message posted online.In the 1.50-minute video, Neeru Garg said, “The airport authorities vacated the airport at 10 pm last night. They told us to go to the airline office, saying they would guide us. When we went to the airline office, nobody guided us. We sat there for nearly half an hour. Later, we found that all hotels were booked. We managed to get a room almost 20 km away at an expensive tariff and checked in at 1 am.”She further said that they were allowed to stay in the hotel only till 11 am and were asked to check availability elsewhere thereafter. “We had Rs 30,000-40,000 with us yesterday, which we exchanged into local currency, and now we are out of money. Our blood pressure medicines are also over. Our relatives and well-wishers are offering us support through phone calls, but we appeal to the government to evacuate us,” she said.Meanwhile, talking to The Tribune, Anil Kumar Bhola, Administrator, SSD Girls’ College, Bathinda, said the couple had gone to Dubai for a leisure trip but got stranded due to the prevailing situation. “We have spoken to Punjab Congress chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Rajya Sabha MP Rajinder Gupta, who have assured us that they will take up the matter with the Ministry concerned,” he said.He added that local industrialist Rajinder Mittal, whose company has an office in Dubai, has also assured monetary support to the couple there.