Lockdown: 4,000 Goans from 65 countries seek to return home

Panaji, May 6 () At least 4,000 Goans from 65countries have registered themselves on the Goa NRIcommission's portal to come back to the country amid thecoronavirus-enforced lockdown, state NRI Commissioner NarendraSawaikar said on Wednesday.

The state NRI commission has shared the data with theMinistry of External Affairs (MEA), Sawaikar told .

Nearly 4,000 people have registered themselves on theGoa NRI portal launched by the commission. They are spreadacross 65 countries, mostly in the Middle East and the UK, theBJP leader said.

The Goa NRI Commission has urged the MEA to facilitateimmediate repatriation of Goans who are stranded abroad.

Sawaikar said Goa does not figure in the first phaseof the MEA's repatriation initiative, but its natives arelikely to be brought back in the second phase.

The 4,000 people who have registered on the portalinclude a sizable number of students, some who have lost theirjobs and some NRIs' parents who are stranded abroad as theyhad travelled prior to the lockdown.

Sawaikar said the MEA will give preference to thosewho have requested to come back under compellingcircumstances", the criteria of which will be decided as pertheir guidelines.

Air India will operate 64 repatriation flights for aweek from May 7 while the Navy deployed two ships as Indiarolled out a massive evacuation plan on Tuesday to bring backthousands of its nationals stranded abroad due to thecoronavirus-triggered lockdown.

From the Gulf countries to Malaysia and the UK to theUS, the multi-agency operation christened 'Vande BharatMission' will see the state-owned airline operate the non-scheduled commercial flights till May 13 to ferry around15,000 Indian nationals from 12 countries.

Those availing the repatriation flights will becharged, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said onTuesday in New Delhi, adding that private Indian airlines mayjoin the repatriation effort after May 13. RPS GK GK