: Goa not on destination list of evacuation flights #IndiaNEWS #Goa News Panaji: Uncertainty shrouds the fate of thousands of stranded non-resident Indian (NRI) Goans in the Gulf and other countries

Goa not on destination list of evacuation flights #IndiaNEWS #Goa News
Panaji: Uncertainty shrouds the fate of thousands of stranded non-resident Indian (NRI) Goans in the Gulf and other countries waiting to return home, as Goa is not on the destination list of states where evacuation flights organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will land.

As many as 3,550 Goans working abroad as on May 4 were seeking flights to return home, according to the Goa NRI Commission that had asked the stranded Goans to register their names with it.

Of the 3,550 NRI Goans, around 2,755 are Indian passport holders and the remaining are Goans with Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards, as per the Commission office.

Expressing disappointment that the state is not among the destinations where the evacuation flights will land, Anthony Dâ€™Souza, nodal officer for NRI Goans, said, â€œI was expecting Goa would be one of the destinations for these flights but if you look at the chart the state is not figuring.â€?

He said stranded Goans, who are stuck abroad due to work or any other reason are mainly from UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar as well as Goans scattered in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Canada, China and West Africa (Congo).

â€œThe evacuation flights organised by the government are for all Indians. To get a seat on the flights, individuals have to apply to the embassies. I donâ€™t know how many stranded Goans have applied,â€? said Dâ€™Souza, while adding that the names of Goans, who have registered with the state NRI Commission were shared with the MHA.

â€œGoa is a small state but it has many NRIs, who are working in the Gulf and other countries. The other peculiarity of the state is that there are families where one spouse is an OCI cardholder and the other spouse is with Indian passport,â€? pointed out Dâ€™Souza.

Besides stranded NRIs, the state also has about 8,500 seafarers with Indian passports, who want to come back. Majority of the seafarers are on the ships where they work while some have signed off and living in hotels, guest houses, etc.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced many global companies to shut down leaving thousands of NRI Goans stranded without jobs and money.

Thousands of stranded Indians in countries like the UK, the UAE and the US due to the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions are being brought back by special flights in a massive evacuation operation, organised jointly by the MHA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Kerala is the top state where evacuation flights are due to fly from May 7.
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