The Kerala government has decided to facilitate free air tickets to underprivilleged Indian workers seeking return through United Arab Emirates (UAE) government’s general amnesty scheme. The 3-month deadline that UAE government had set for all illegal foreign workers is drawing to a close by the end of August.
Several business houses in Gulf are in tie-up with the Kerala government to financially back the Indian worker’s bid to go home. The one without work permit faces the threat of getting deported if he cannot manage to get legal status. The Indian consulate in Dubai has received more than 33,000 applications for emergency certificates from Indian workers.
“One criteria to identify those Indians eligible for the airfare will be `who is the most needy,” sources in NORKA (Non-resident Keralaite’s affairs – a State government department) told FE. “At the same time, those from Kerala will have the priority.” A NORKA team is already in Dubai to supervise the arrangements.
Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan has appealed that the illegal expats in UAE make the most of the Gulf country’s amnesty offer this time.
Air India has slashed fares for those workers who want to return to India. The national carrier will operate two additional flights on Aug 19 and 22 to Hyderabad via Mumbai. Emirates Airlines has earlier announced that it will offer special discounted fares to amnesty seekers, including Indians.
A good many of 14 lakh Indian employees in UAE are contract workers. Since Indians account for as much as 60% of Dubai’s population, followed by a substantial chunk of those from Philippines and Sri Lanka, UAE Government is in a hurry to correct the demographic imbalance through `arabisation’ of the workforce.