Authority for IMA cases seeks feedback from depositors on draft claim process

Managluru, May 15: Kannadigas in Saudi Arabia deserve more attention from the government amidst covid-19 crisis as they remit huge amount of money to their home state and ultimately get no benefit, opined U T Khader, Mangaluru MLA.

The former minister held a video conference with stranded Kannadigas in Saudi Arabia on May 15 and assured to do his best to convince the Centre to operate more repatriation flights from Saudi Arabia to Karnataka. 

He also said that he would urge the chief minister of Karnataka to announce a separate rehabilitation package for Indian expatriates who have lost their jobs in Gulf countries amidst covid-19 lockdown.

Mr Khader also interacted with two medical emergency patients and promised them to inform the Indian embassy in Riyadh to facilitate their homeward journey via Dammam-Bengaluru flight in the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission. 

Mr Khader expressed regret over the inept handling of passengers from Dubai at Mangaluru International Airport on May 12 and said that next batch of passengers would not face such problems on arrival.

Bengaluru, Jan 13: Though he submitted his resignation as leader of the opposition over a month ago, former chief minister Siddaramaiah continues as the face of the Congress in Karnataka.

However, this may change as All India Congress Committee (AICC) interim president Sonia Gandhi has summoned Siddaramaiah to Delhi for a final consultation over change of guard. Over the past month, there has been speculation over the possibility of Congress persisting with Siddaramaiah as opposition leader and either party troubleshooter DK Shivakumar or former ministers MB Patil, HK Patil or Eshwar Khandre replacing incumbent president Dinesh Gundu Rao. Both tendered resignations owing moral responsibility for the party's dismal performance in the 15 bypolls held last month.

In the past 24 hours, there has been talk of Siddaramaiah being asked to be the state unit president and vacating the other post for a young turk or experience legislator including the likes of Shivakumar who could be the face of KPCC by 2023 if he gets a clean chit from the ED in cases of money-laundering, etc. Seniors, including former KPCC president and DyCM G Parameswara and former minister HK Patil, are strong contenders to be leader of the opposition if Siddaramaiah is asked to vacate the post.

However, sources in the Siddaramaiah camp dismissed the possibility of him becoming KPCC president. "He has never aspired for the post and the high command is not inclined to do it," said a member in his camp.

Siddaramaiah may meet Sonia on Tuesday morning. It's still unclear if any other KPCC functionaries have been summoned. Sources said Sonia is scheduled to leave India for medical treatment on January 15 and wanted to complete the consultations about Karnataka. The high command has reportedly gone through reports submitted by party observers Madhusudan Mistry and Parameswara.

Dubai, May 6: The Indian nationals cleared by the UAE health authorities and found to be asymptomatic will only be allowed to fly back home in one of India's biggest ever repatriation exercises, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi has said ahead of the first set of flights on Thursday.

On Monday, the Indian government announced plans to begin a phased repatriation of its citizens stranded abroad from May 7. Air India will operate 64 flights from May 7 to May 13 to bring back around 15,000 Indian nationals stranded abroad amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown, India's Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday.

The first two special flights that will operate from Thursday to evacuate Indians stranded in the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic will begin with applicants from Kerala, who formed the majority of the expatriates who have registered to be repatriated from here, Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor has said.

"All departing passengers will have to undergo medical screening and IGM/IGG test at the departure airport and only those cleared by the UAE health authorities and found to be asymptomatic will be allowed to board the plane,” the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi said on Tuesday.

According to the embassy, all passengers will be required to sign an undertaking to undergo compulsory quarantine at the destination of arrival and bear the cost of the same.

“Each passenger, at the time of boarding would be handed over a safety kit containing 2 three-layered face masks, 2 pairs of gloves and pouches/small bottles of hand sanitizers. While on board the flight, the health protocol of the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India will be strictly followed,” said the embassy.

The passenger lists for the two flights on May 7 have been finalised by the Embassy / Consulate and sent to Air India Express for issue of tickets.

The Embassy / Consulate will continue conveying the details of further special flights as and when they are announced by the Government of India, over the next few days.

Less than 2,000 Indians wishing to return home from the UAE will be flown to six Indian states in the first week of India’s biggest ever repatriation exercise named Vande Bharat Mission—sans social distancing and COVID-19 tests, the Gulf News reported.

Only those cleared by the UAE health authorities and found to be asymptomatic will be allowed to board the plane.

The short-listed applicants, who were contacted by the Indian missions on Tuesday to purchase tickets for the first two flights to Kerala on Thursday, told the Gulf News that the tickets are priced around Dh 725 to Dh 750 (over Rs 15,000).

Sharjah resident Rasheed Thayyil said his 70-year-old mother Nepheeza Thottungal, who came on a visit to the UAE in February, received an email from the Indian Consulate in Dubai which quoted an airfare of around Dh725 (approx Rs 15,000), the report said.

Another applicant from Abu Dhabi Ambily Babu said she purchased a ticket at Dh 750 from Air India Express for her Abu Dhabi-Kochi flight scheduled to fly on Thursday evening, it said.

Air India Express which is set to operate the first two flights to Kerala on Thursday will operate its Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with a seating capacity of 186 economy class seats, the report added.

With nine seats reserved for isolation, only 177 passengers would be flown, it said.

The Indian expatriate community of approximately 3.42 million is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country's population, according to information available on the Indian Embassy website.