India embarks on massive coronavirus repatriation

NEW DELHI - India is staging its biggest ever evacuation operation to allow 200,000 of its citizens to return home. All the Indian nationals are stranded overseas, including in Singapore, due to travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Around 14,800 citizens will be involved in the first phase of the operation which will begin on May 6 and will continue till May 13. They will be repatriated aboard 64 flights from 12 countries, including Singapore.

There will be five flights from Singapore for 1,250 citizens stuck in the city state since India grounded international flights in March.

Evacuations aboard flights operated by national carrier Air India and its subsidiary, Air India Express, will also be taking off from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Malaysia among others.

"The present exercise is a limited exercise to address problems of those of our citizens who are in foreign countries in distress and find themselves stranded either because their visas have run out or they are being deported. They went to these countries for work and need to get back," civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at a press conference on Tuesday.

He noted that the Indian government had not yet decided on whether to allow the resumption of international or domestic flights, which were also grounded ahead of the nationwide lockdown imposed on March 24.

"The decisions on resumption of flights still remain to be taken. In other words normal domestic and international flights will continue to remain suspended till May 17."

Three naval ships have also been dispatched to the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives to bring back Indian citizens.

New Delhi has been slowly easing the stringent lockdown, which came into effect at midnight on March 24. Since Monday, the rules have been relaxed and offices have begun to operate with around 33 per cent staff, people are venturing out of their homes and industrial activity have resumed.

But Indian tourists, expatriate workers, students and migrant workers in different parts of the country and overseas remain stranded because all flights remain grounded. Cross country travel also remains out of bounds as the government works to ensure gains made during the lockdown are not erased.

The cost of a ticket on the evacuation flight for 1,250 Indian citizens stuck in Singapore is between S$281 to S$380 per person. There will be five flights:

• May 7: To Mumbai

• May 8: To Ahmedabad

• May 10: To Trichy

• May 11: To Delhi

• May 12: To Bengaluru

While causing hardships, the lockdown has been seen as successful because people have largely remained indoors at home.

India has over 46,000 Covid-19 cases but government officials say the curve has flattened for infections. It has yet to show a downward trend.

The government has emphasised that it is taking precautions and following procedures in the evacuation exercise. Only those who are asymptomatic will be allowed to board flights. On arrival home, the returnees will have to fill in a self declaration form and will be quarantined for 14 days in their home district or a nearby district at their own cost for 14 days after which they will be tested. If tested negative they will be allowed to go home where they will "self monitor" for another 14 days.

States have been told to keep quarantine facilities ready for those returning home.

Indians stranded abroad are keen to return home following weeks of uncertainty.

Among those anxious to return is Mr Shiva Shanker, who was working in the IT sector in Singapore.

"I have been in Singapore since August 2019 on an employment pass and I lost my job. I am stuck in Singapore and waiting for flights to reach India as soon as possible," said Mr Shanker who has registered with the High Commission in Singapore.

He said he had no problems paying for the flight back.

"Yeah I will pay the charges as I don't want to put a burden on the Indian government... A lot of people are waiting to go back to Hyderabad," he said.

One key concern in India has been over whether the states have got adequate quarantine facilities for those coming back.

There is also worry that the coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, could potentially spread in the aircraft with flights running at full capacity, making social distancing difficult.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday told Indian media that he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the need to test Indians before bringing them back.

"The people are being brought back without testing whether they have the coronavirus or not. This is very dangerous. There are 200 people in a flight. If one or two have the virus - this can be very dangerous for the country," the Chief Minister was quoted as saying.