14,800 Indians Evacuated From Abroad
The Indian government has decided to evacuate Indians stuck abroad. Watch the video for all the details.
International air travel was banned by the government since 22nd March 2020 to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Lakhs of Indian citizens are stranded abroad amid the lockdown.The Central Government announced that evacuation of Indians stranded abroad will begin from 7th May 2020. It will be done in a phased manner. This will be called the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’. 14,800 will be brought to India in 64 flights in the first week. This will be the biggest evacuation of Indians from foreign countries since Independence. Now, in the first week, Indians stranded in UAE, UK, Malaysia, USA, Philippines, Bangladesh, Singapore, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman, will be brought back on Air India. On the first day, 10 flights will be deployed to evacuate 2,300 people. Only those who are COVID-19 negative will be allowed on these special flights and they will also have to follow guidelines of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Each flight will have 200-300 passengers to ensure social distancing is followed. Even Indian Navy ships will be used to bring people home. All passengers will have to pay for the flights. Some of the fares from the Gulf countries such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha to Kochi, Kerala range from Rs 15,000 to Rs 16,000. Rescue flights from London to India will cost Rs 50,000 while flights from the United States to India have been priced at Rs 1,00,000.Once all of them are brought back to the country, they have to register to the Arogya Setu App and undergo another medical screening.After scrutiny, they will be quarantined for 14 days, either in a hospital or in an institutional quarantine on payment-basis, by the concerned state government.India has suspended its domestic and international passenger flights till May 17, there is no clear indication yet from the government on when they may resume.
