Bringing a cheer to NRKs amid Covid-19 uncertainty

The Covid-19 saw a mass exodus of NRKs from the Gulf countries to Kerala. While some of them returned home on furlough, others flew back to the state after losing their day jobs. The mass NRI arrivals plunged an already crisis-hit country into deep water, but the Government in Kerala was not one to sit back and watch. It was first off the blocks to roll out programmes that rehabilitated the expats who landed in the state empty-handed.

The State launched different projects such as help desks, online medical consultation for patients, registration for Kerala expats, under the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) ROOTS. Using the schemes, the State Government actively intervened in the issues of those searching for jobs abroad, those who were stranded overseas and those who have arrived back in Kerala after being laid off from their organisations.

As many as 1,056 flights touched down at Kerala after the Centre launched Vande Bharat, a mission to bring back expats desperate to go home. Apart from this, 2,034 charter flights also made their way into Kerala carrying passengers stranded on foreign soil. Of the NRKs that landed in Kerala, 2.52 lakh were jobless Gulf returnees in the pandemic period. Acting proactively, the government addressed the issues of the NRKs and satisfactorily resolved the problems, under various NRK-friendly schemes.

The government announced Rs 5,000 monetary assistance which proved to be a huge solace for the jobless NRKs who were unable to fly back to the Gulf. The NORKA received 1.75 lack applications for the financial aid, to which the State responded by distributing the money after proper document verification. The government, so far, has spent Rs 50 crore for the welfare of the NRKs. The timely intervention of the government meant that the expats who landed in Kerala did not face any difficulties.

As per October 2020 figures, more than 4.31 lakh people have come back to Kerala after seeing job losses or failed business in the Gulf. A majority of the expats came from Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the UAE. The interventions proved that when a crisis hits the NRKs, the government was quick to act for their wellbeing.

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