Special flights to take home amnesty seekers

Dubai: More than 28,000 Indian amnesty seekers had returned to India, said the Indian Federal Minister for Non-Resident Indians.

There are about 1.4 million Indians in the UAE of which 50 per cent are blue collar workers. A three-month amnesty period was announced by the UAE government on June 2.

The Indian missions along with the Naturalisation and Residency Department of various emirates have opened special counters to cater to the vast number of Indian amnesty seekers.

Attempts are also on by various Indian companies to absorb the experienced illegal workers and help them regularise their status.

Travel troubles

Speaking to Gulf News over telephone from New Delhi, Vayalar Ravi, the Indian minister for Overseas Indians, said that his ministry is keeping close contact with the Indian missions in the UAE to iron out travel hiccups faced by the amnesty seekers.

He said: "A majority of the amnesty seekers are from the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It has also been brought to my attention that many of them are finding it difficult to book an air ticket because of the enormous rush. I have discussed the matter with the Chief of Air India and he had assured me that if the need arises there will be special flights arranged for amnesty seekers."

He said that as per the statistics provided by the Indian missions to his ministry, about 45,000 out-passes or emergency certificates have been issued by the Indian missions and added that he is looking forward to cut the menace of unscrupulous agents once the Emigration Act is amended.

He said: "Despite a travel ban to Iraq ... there has been a considerable [number of] Indians who have been sneaked into that country by unscrupulous agents and my ministry is getting in touch with the countries through which they have been taken to Iraq. Various Indian missions are also being contacted in Gulf and Middle East in this matter."

To cater to the rush, Air India Express announced additional flights to Mumbai and Hyderabad.