Kerala expatriates seek online platform to register themselves for government survey

Dubai: Expatriates from Kerala living in the UAE have called on their state government to provide an online platform so they can register for a survey.

The Kerala government initiated a Non-Resident Keralite (NRK) survey on May 1 to ascertain the number of people from the southern state of India living and working overseas and find about the nature of their work.

Nearly half of the 2.5 million Keralites living abroad are estimated to be in the Gulf. However, with a large number of them having left Indian shores for several generations now, they say the government needs to provide them a platform to connect to their home state.

“We have been living in the Gulf for three generations. There is no one back home to provide accurate information. I feel the government should contact the non-resident community across countries if they are to get correct numbers,” said Pradeep R., an executive.

Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, a UAE-based welfare organisation, said a large number of Keralites are living abroad and their houses back home are locked.

“At least 10 per cent of people who live here are living with their families. Many are living here for decades with their families.

“In the UAE we have 15 schools which follow the Kerala State Education curriculum, indicating the high number of students from the state.

“The census would not depict the true picture and they will leave a large number of expatriates from the UAE out of it unless the overseas community is also contacted,” said K.V. Shamsudheen, president of the trust.

Shamsudheen said the only way to do this was to provide an online platform where those living overseas could register.

“The government keeps taking several initiatives for the benefit of residents living abroad or those returning back home for good. It is important the details are accurate so that such schemes can reach a wide number of the population,” he said.

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