The eagerness of Keralites abroad to return home was evident as nearly two lakh people registered their names on the website launched by Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) department within a day of its launch. The NORKA had launched the website on Sunday.
The highest number of registrations is from the UAE (75,000), followed by Saudi (43,000) and other Gulf countries. There are registrations from the Western countries as well, but these numbers are small. As many as 2,600 Keralites have registered their names on the site from the US, and 1,290 from the UK.
The website had received 25,000 applications within hours after it was set up.
“The rush was expected as we know the plight of people living in the Gulf,'' said an official with the NORKA.
The official said the NORKA has started registration to get a clarity on the number of Keralites wanting to return to the state. “It has got nothing to do with preference in booking flight tickets. But it will help the government in making necessary plans for the returnees,'' the official said.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Saturday, had said the state has made all safety arrangements for the return of non-resident Keralites and is awaiting the Union government’s nod.
Meanwhile, the chief minister, during his telephonic conversation with Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday, reiterated the state's demand to have special flights to bring the non-resident Keralites back home. “The CM has also conveyed the details of state's preparedness to bring the NRKs home. The Centre's reaction is learnt to be positive,'' the official said.
It is expected that around five lakh Keralites may return to the state when flights become operative. According to the protocol, priority will be given to those stranded abroad after expiry of visiting visas, pregnant women, the elderly, children and the ailing. A certificate proving that the passenger has been tested negative for COVID-19 is mandatory for all to board the flight.
A mandatory 14-day home quarantine should also be observed by all the NRKs after returning to Kerala.
