Kerala has made all arrangements for the return of Malayalee diaspora who are stranded in the Gulf in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. On May 8, a flight from Bahrain will reach Kochi and on May 9, two flights are scheduled to reach Kochi, one from Kuwait and another from Oman.
The embassies in Gulf have shortlisted persons who are registered with Indian embassies for travel. In the first phase of evacuation, only persons shortlisted by embassies on the priority lists are allowed to travel from the Gulf. Pregnant women, Senior citizens with acute health problems, children, and persons with expired visiting visas are given preference.
Meanwhile, Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said all registered expatriates from Kerala in the Gulf region who want to return should be brought back and poor blue-collar workers must not be charged by the government for the journey, reported Deccan Herald.
Tharoor, who held an interactive session with some NRIs in the Gulf on Monday, said one major wish is that Kerala must bring back all registered ‘Pravasis’ as soon as possible so that before the rains start in early June and viruses spread, Kerala can be back to normal.
Maximum flights will be to Kerala at 15, followed by Tamil Nadu & NCR at 11, Maharashtra and Telangana at 7, Gujarat at 5, Karnataka and J&K at 3 and Punjab and UP at 1.
