COVID-19: No free tickets, Indian expatriates to bear cost to fly back home

Thiruvananthapuram: It is official. Indians stranded in different parts of the world will have to bear the cost of their travel if they wish to fly home by special flights arranged by the union government.

The centre made it clear on Sunday that no free tickets would be provided to Indians flying home from abroad.

The centre is expected to finalise the ticket fare from different destinations soon.

Kerala has demanded free air tickets for the expatriates, but the centre dismissed it because no country had offered free travel to their returning citizens and that even inter-state migrant labourers were paying for their train journey back home.

Meanwhile, the registration for those who wish to return has been progressing in various Indian embassies.

The embassy will finalise priority list of the passengers with the respective state governments.

Evacuation will begin only after the states complete arrangements to accommodate the expatriates, including the 14-day quarantine facilities.

4.14 lakh NRKs register

The Department of Non Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) officials said 4.14 lakh Keralites living in various foreign countries have evinced interest in coming back home till Sunday. The list has been handed over to the embassies in different countries.

Of these, 61,009 have lost jobs, 41, 236 have expired visit visas, 9,827 are pregnant women, 10,628 are children and 11,256 are senior citizens. As many as 27,100 persons have their visas cancelled while 806 are released from various prisons.

These numbers are based on the registrations on the NORKA website, which started on April 26. Those who wish to come back from abroad can still apply online at: www.registernorkaroots.org

Apart from this, 1,50,054 Keralites living in other Indian states too have registered with the NORKA website. Keralites from Karnataka top the list (49,223) followed by Tamil Nadu (45,491) and Maharashtra (20,869).

Self-reporting facility

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government would introduce self-reporting facility for those who wish to go into quarantine after returning home.

Doctors will be deputed in all panchayats for giving guidance and providing consultation to expatriates. Mobile clinics and telemedicine facilities will also be introduced for them, he said.