The lockdown imposed by many countries across the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the travel plans of thousands of people who had flown to other countries. At least 1,000 Indians, who had travelled to Malaysia for various purposes, have been stuck there since the country restricted flight operations from March 17. All their hope right now is to get back home at the earliest.
Ganesan, a 48-year-old man, is a part of an 11-member tourist group that had touched down in Malaysia on February 27 for sightseeing. However, their plans went caput after the country suspended flight operations suddenly on March 17, as the novel coronavirus infection spread across the world.
“We are now staying in a wedding hall attached to the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple in Penang, Malaysia. We are being provided with food, water and a place to stay. But it has been roughly 50 days and we really want to get back home,” he says. The group comprises 11 men aged between 25 years and 55 years.
The group was supposed to return to India on March 25. However, following Malaysia, India also closed its skies for passenger airline operations from March 23, thus putting a temporary end to their dreams of returning home. They, however, have registered themselves with the Indian Embassy in Malaysia with all the details regarding their trip.
“We have registered with the Indian embassy and they have also validated our identity. We are in touch with them over email. All this happened around two weeks ago. Since then there is no update from them,” Ganesan explains.
The uncertainty around the reopening of skies by both the countries has also led to panic among the most vulnerable of the population, like pregnant women.
Lakshmi Prasanna, a Keralite who is working as a software tester in Malaysia, is seven months pregnant and had planned to come to her home in Kerala for delivery. “With the day-by-day increase in COVID-19 numbers, I am stressed and worried. I cannot go home and my parents cannot come here due to the lockdown. I need assistance at this time of my pregnancy. We don’t have any relatives to assist me here,” she says.
The mental trauma of the immobility imposed on the people adds to the stress of pregnancy for women. With high medical costs in Malaysia bordering on unaffordability, Lakshmi’s family back in India have been worrying about her health.
Pravasi Malayali Association, Malaysia, has been supporting a few of these Indians by providing them with food and accommodation.
“A lot of these people who are now stuck in Malaysia are running out of money to support themselves. Money transfer is not working either due to movement restrictions imposed. So even if their relatives send them money, these people are not able to receive these funds,” says a volunteer from the Association. He adds that the Indian Embassy has reportedly received 3000 registrations about stranded Indians in Malaysia. “But a lot of them are double entries, so we estimate the real number to be around 1000 persons,” he adds.
A few of the stranded Indians have also received quotations to charter flights from Air Asia and Malindo airlines to bring them back to India, however, the Embassy has reportedly not granted any confirmation on their evacuation plans. “Due to non-availability of approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Indians here are not able to finalise the plans either,” says the volunteer.