Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi (AM)
New Delhi, Apr 28: In a major move, the centre asked Air India and Indian Navy to be on standby with their aircraft and warships for mass evacuation of Indians from Gulf countries as coronavirus continues to spread rapidly.
Scores of Indians are stuck in the Gulf due to the suspension of air operations and other modes of travel at present. India has announced a lockdown and suspended all kinds of travel till May 3 due to coronavirus.
ANI quoted a top government official saying, “We are assessing the scenario and finding the plan to evacuate Indians from the Gulf countries. We have asked Air India and the Indian Navy for the detailed evacuation plan.”
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Consul General of India to Dubai Vipul, said that they are still waiting for official confirmation from Delhi on the issue. He further said that the authorities in the Gulf are yet to decide on the matter of collecting registrations from Indians who are interested in returning home.
It is gathered that many Indians have contacted the embassies through social media and emails, showing a willingness to return to their homes. “The government is doing all possible planning and making arrangements to evacuate them from their destinations,” said a source from the government to ANI.
Sources also said that the Indian Navy was involved in the plan of action since around 10 million Indians live in the Gulf and many of them live in port cities. The Indian Navy, taking the responsibility has submitted a detailed evacuation plan where they mentioned that it can evacuate 1,500 Indians from the Gulf countries in three warships.
Sources from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told ANI that it has already started consulting with the states and union territories for the necessary arrangements to start the process of evacuation.
With over 500 aircraft, India is capable to evacuate the Indians from the Gulf nations. The decision on who will bear the expense of the evacuation is yet to be made as a majority of the Indians who are stranded in the Gulf countries are labourers.