Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to draw his attention to the plight of Indian migrants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“Out of the 2.8 million Indian migrants in UAE, nearly 1 million are from Kerala. It is learned that the situation in Dubai is worsening. We are receiving a number of complaints regarding inadequate isolation and quarantine facilities in the country and apprehensions are raised about the imminent community spread of the disease. Most of the requests convey that preventive measures and quarantine methods implemented in Dubai are neither effective nor adequate,” the letter reads.
“As we know, the majority of Keralites are blue collar workers and living in crowded facilities in Dubai and therefore, the probability of the disease spreading is very high. In these circumstances, the Government of Kerala is very much concerned about the safety and well-being of our diaspora in Dubai. I would request that this matter may be taken up with the UAE government urgently so as to ensure adequate food, medicines, quarantine and emergency service facilities to the Indian diaspora in Dubai,” urges the letter.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to PM Narendra Modi to draw his attention to the plight of Indian migrants in UAE. CM Pinarayi Vijayan requested the Prime Minister that this matter may be taken up with the UAE Government: Chief Minister's Office Kerala #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/NoPzVS5S9S
— ANI (@ANI) April 9, 2020
In his COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said that the state would set up help desks in every country with a large population of Malayalis along with online medical consultations services. The help desks would work in association with various organisations of the NORKA (Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs) and also with Indian ambassadors abroad.
He said that the problems are getting worse with more reports coming in from America and other countries of Malayalis dying of the disease.
“The NRKs call home not knowing what to do,” he said. On Sunday, CM Pinarayi had held a video conference with top diaspora leaders. The CM listened to the difficulties faced by Malayalis in various countries due to the pandemic.