Indian Government is ready to repatriate hundreds of thousands of distresses nationals stranded abroad from 7 May, who have been making appeals to return home. Among them, large numbers are migrant workers in the Gulf countries. Juthy Saha reports.
Due to the coronavirus lockdown and its ongoing economic impact, as well as the current oil crisis, many migrant workers have been left without jobs, including an estimated 8.5 million workers spread across the Gulf States.
Last week, Indian missions in the Gulf had issued a questionnaire asking Indian nationals to register their interest to return and provide details of their intended final destination. Indian embassies and high commissions are currently preparing lists of citizens who are in distress and sets three Indian naval warships and 500 aircraft.
The country’s Ministry of External Affairs said: “Travelers would be brought back in aircraft, mainly operated by national carrier Air India, and naval ships”
More than 200,000 people have already registered a desire to return from the UAE alone. Flights would also bring passengers from the US, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, and Bangladesh.
The Finance Minister of Kerala, one of the states with the highest migrant populations to the Middle East, tweeted that the state expected 500,000 migrants to return.
Labourers from the Gulf nations are expected to return on naval ships, women and especially pregnant women will be given priority to return in aircraft. Passengers will have to pay for seats on special flights. Passage on the naval ships, however, could be free of cost.
India took this decision as mounting tensions sparked a recent riot in a migrant camp in Kuwait led by Egyptian workers. Kuwait has seen rising xenophobia among some of its citizens and has offered amnesties to unregistered workers and a ticket home. It has also suspended jail time and fines for anyone who overstayed a work visa.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday reviewed the action taken on
India’s record-setting repatriation plan that will cover 1.9 lakh people in the first
phase.
