Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing concerns over concerns over the safety of expatriates in Kerala living in West Asia, amid conflict in the region following US-Israeli air strikes on Iran and its retaliatory action on US bases in Gulf countries, especially UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The Prime Minister asked the Union government to take action to bring them back home.
“We need to be prepared to ensure the safety of the ‘diaspora’, including taking action to bring them back safely, if the situation requires it. I am sure the Government of India will give serious thought to this matter,” the Prime Minister said. “I also take this opportunity to reassure that the Kerala government is ready to extend any kind of assistance possible from its side, including providing helplines to enable relatives to contact Pravasis,” the Prime Minister said.
Nithish John, who works near Dubai’s International City, spoke of hearing explosions during the morning from his office.
He said: “I could see missiles flying in the sky and being intercepted by the government’s defense systems here. There were loud explosions. We receive regular security alerts from the local government on our phones.”
A healthcare worker in the UAE said she could not sleep all night because of the sound of explosions.
She said: “Hearing loud explosions all night was very disturbing. When we looked at the sky, we could see rockets and shells approaching us. This is the first experience of its kind in my life.”
There are an estimated 3.5 million Keralites living and working in the Gulf, more than 60% of whom are in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
NoRKA-Roots, the Kerala government agency working for the welfare of expatriates, has opened two helpline numbers for those who need assistance: 91-8802012345 and 1800-425-3939 (toll free within India).
A statement issued by the state government said that the helpline numbers received more than 500 calls within one day, including more than 350 calls from relatives of expatriates in India. While 78 calls were received from the UAE, 49 calls were received from Qatar, and 39 calls were received from Bahrain.
Dr. Danish Salem, a doctor and social media influencer based in the UAE, said the current situation does not warrant panic among the general public.
“The UAE government is monitoring the situation and providing timely updates. The systems that can intercept aerial missiles are active. Therefore, there is no reason for concerns at the moment. I have been working at Abu Dhabi Government Hospital. Daily life is going on as usual here,” Salem said in a Facebook post.
The conflict in West Asia also led to a wave of flight cancellations from all four international airports in Kerala. Together, the airports handle about 100 flights daily to the Gulf region. The closure of Dubai Airport mainly affected the movement of airlines.
Meanwhile, a government statement said that eight Indians, including three from Kerala, were stuck at Karachi airport in Pakistan after the Air Arabia flight they were on from Baku to Kuwait was diverted to Karachi due to ongoing tensions. She added that the Ministry of External Affairs has intervened and is making efforts to bring them to India via Colombo.
