Calls For Evacuation Of Stranded Expatriates Rise

Many have demanded the Indian navy to ferry them in its ships and Air India, the national carrier, to airlift all those who wanted to return

- Ashraf Padanna

Anxiety over tens of thousands of its workers and visitors stranded abroad, especially in Gulf countries, is growing in Kerala.

They receive hundreds of distress calls from expatriates who have lost their jobs due to the lockdown and visitors stranded after the sudden cancellation of flights after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Some have approached courts seeking a direction to state and federal governments to help them while the authorities insist that mass evacuation is impossible now.

On Sunday, Ramesh Chennithala, the leader of the opposition in the Kerala assembly, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention.

“The expatriates who are stranded abroad, especially in the Gulf countries, are in great difficulty,” he said in his letter.

“People in labour camps and flats are extremely vulnerable and are facing acute shortages of food and essential medical needs, among others.” Even the people who have contracted are not getting adequate medical or ambulance facilities. They are also finding it hard to pay their monthly rents.”