Thiruvananthapuram: Hopes soared on Sunday for millions of Keralites around the world seeking to return home amid the coronavirus outbreak as the Kerala government’s department dealing with non-residents gave final touches to start registrations for bringing them back home.
The Department for Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (Norka) was ready to launch registration for those wanting to come back home, which the state and federal governments will then coordinate with the respective countries where Keralites are based.
“The registration is open to Keralites across the world,” Norka CEO Harikrishnan Namboothiri told Gulf News, just ahead of the website for registration going live on Sunday.
By Norka’s own reckoning, roughly 4 million Keralites are based across different countries in the world, a large number of them in the Gulf countries.
Early indications are that pregnant women, those who are ill from diseases other than coronavirus infection, students, and those who are stuck abroad while on short visits and whose visas have expired, will have priority.
In other words, those who register first need not be the first to be allotted seats on flights leaving for India.
Since the registration was only beginning on Sunday, it will take a few days for the government to get to know the likely numbers of those who are keen to return.
Chief secretaries of respective states in India had been tasked with the job of coordinating the travel of Indian expats to their homes, and the plan is to take them to airports closest to their homes. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala are among states that have substantial numbers of people working abroad.
Depending on the number of registrations, the state chief secretary will have to coordinate with the Airports Authority of India and various airlines to ensure a smooth transfer of non-residents back home.
