Dubai, May 12: Free tickets are being offered by philanthropists and businessmen based in the UAE for deserving Indians who want to fly home.
Repatriation ticket prices have been set at around Dh700 to Dh750 per person depending on the destination. But there are many in UAE who cannot afford it, especially people who have lost their jobs or have medical concerns.
Malayalam Communications Ltd and its Malayalam stations (Kairali TV & Kairali News) are giving away 1,000 tickets free. Those who wish to apply can submit their application to [email protected].
Indian businessman Dhananjay Datar, chairman & managing director of Al Adil Trading Company, is also giving away 300 tickets. He is liasing with the Consulate General of India (CGI) for the names. “This is the time we need to rise as a community,” he said.
Besides taking care of airfares, Datar will also bear the cost of COVID-19 testing fees for Indians from the UAE.
“The repatriation efforts undertaken by the government of India is one of the largest initiatives. I am just doing a small bit to help the community. There are many people who are not in a position to meet the airfare and COVID testing costs as they have lost jobs. I will be coordinating with authorised entities handing this to lend my support,” he said.
Pravasi India Forum, a welfare organisation in UAE, is giving away 100 tickets. The NGO on Monday, May 11, uploaded a registration form where people can provide their details. “Tickets will be given to those approved by CGI and for those who are in financial distress,” said Abulaise, president of Pravasi Welfare Forum.
Punnakan Mohammed Ali, general secretary Incas UAE committee, said it is also ready to give away hundreds of free tickets but only to genuine candidates. “We will evaluate each individual and only if they are approved by the consulate, we will give the tickets. But we are ready to help.”
Those who want to register can get more details on www.pravasiwelfareforum.com.They can also call 055-1025611.
Need for more flights
The gesture notwithstanding, many Indians are still waiting to get news on their repatration.
Social worker Shukoorali Kallangal, President, Abu Dhabi Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), urged the government of India to add more flights to accommodate more passengers.
“Emergency repatriation services are the need of the hour. There are several expats with medical, financial distress. For those who came with the hope of a job – that too is a thing of the past now. Right now all they want is to go home and start something afresh there.”
Kallangal said: “Take the case of pregnant women. In many cases, their husbands have lost jobs or have been asked to go on unpaid leave. They are living hand to mouth and cannot afford medical costs. Due consideration should be given to them.”
Sreedharan Prasad, another social worker based in Ras Al Khaimah, said he is currently dealing with several emergency medical cases.
Consul General of India Vipul said plans are afoot to add more flights in the next phase of Indian repatriation. “The number of flights are being decided by India in consultation with state governments. This is not a normal situation we all are in. We are in the middle of a pandemic situation.”
Comments
Elite Indian nationalism defined: Every elite Indian can give his/her life for learning English if he/she needs to live in New York or London. But no elite Indian will sacrifice even a penny for learning Kannada if he/she needs to live in Bengaluru. Nationalism of jokers is always like that. (There are some rare exceptions to that, of course).
Look at how much useful English has been to India: India is one of the worst countries in education; the most starved country; suffers trade losses of more than 40 billion US dollars each year with China alone (I hope you know China doesn't teach in English); ranks 150th in per capita exports; administratively the most stupid one because administration is being carried out in language whish people don't understand; Also read this quotation from a worldwide study carried out by UNESCO, ‘What seems to be standing in our way is a set of myths about language and learning, and these myths must be revealed as such to open people’s eyes. One such myth is that the best way to learn a foreign language is to use it as a medium of instruction. (In fact, it is often more effective to learn additional languages as subjects of study.) Another is that to learn a foreign language you must start as early as possible. (Starting early might help learners to have a nice accent, but otherwise, the advantage goes to learners who have a well developed first language.) A third is that the home language gets in the way of learning a foreign language. (Building a strong foundation in the first language results in a better learning of additional languages.) Clearly, these myths are more false than true, yet they guide the way policymakers tend to think about how speakers of other languages must learn dominant or official languages.’ I will like to discuss with you further Mr. BigZero. If you agree, mail me at [email protected]
Can anything be more anti-national and educationally more stupid than what these 'Crazy' Board of Secondary Education people are saying? Kindly give your arguments if your answer is in Yes. Today itself, I stated in my TV interview that I don't find any education Board educationally as illiterate as the Indian 'Crazy' Board of Secondary Education. This is one more evidence of their illiteracy. I have mailed to the CBSE sataraps about their illiteracy on educational matters. But they never replied.
ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಮಾತೃ ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸುವತ್ತ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ. ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು....
I find this interesting: "It is not a prestige not to learn Kannada...". Unfortunately,
many "elites" speak in other Languages - particularly in English - to show off.
There are problems with Kannadigaas too - we can't speak Kannada
without 80% English in it....
Court must be moved to knock out a ridiculous order. Language is correctly the choice of schools, parents and students. And students should not be burdened to learn languages that will have no use to them.
Karnataka govt. should close these schools if they refuse to comply.
When Hindi & English are mandatory and they did not make a hue and cry against these, what is their problem teaching Kannada in Karnataka?
UP-Bihar's Hindi language mandatory in Karnataka is OK, but not Kannada? What kind of nonsense is this?
@Ravi: Very correct and logical. Moreover, Karnataka and Kannada have been
taken for granted, by most of the people from outside.
People who don't want to learn Kannada in Karnataka and want to treat this place just as a safe haven for jobs, property and weather should leave the state. We have enough freeloaders here from all parts of the country resulting in the chaos in the city. Its time for the Govt. and Courts to tighten the strings.
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