IndianEra > Coronavirus > Vande Bharat Mission: India Takes up World’s Largest Evacuation Program

In line with its earlier announcement, the Indian Government is beginning its evacuation program starting today, i.e., May 07, 2020.

Titled ‘Vande Bharat Mission’, the program aims to evacuate all Indians stuck abroad due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Air India flights will now bring back 14,800 Indians stuck in 12 countries.

Besides evacuation, the flights will also help those willing to travel to London, Singapore, and some select places in the United States during May 8-14, 2020.

“Those who wish to travel from India to London, Singapore and select destinations in the USA on Air India flights operating from May 8 to May 14, to please click on http://www.airindia.in/r1landingpage.htm for booking,” reads a statement by Air India.

In the first phase, Indians in the US will be brought back to various Indian cities during May 9-15, 2020. Passengers will have to bear the travel charges, the Indian Embassy in the US said in a statement.

Passengers

The flight services are available from US locations, including Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco and Newark to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi.

Special flights are also arranged from Delhi, Cochin and Kozhikode to Singapore, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, respectively.

Around 2,300 Indians will fly back in the first batch of evacuation in 10 different flights.

Flight Details

The number of Indian passengers from respective nations includes 300 from the US, 250 each from UK, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia, and 200 each Dhaka, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Doha.

Here is the schedule of all flights flying to India from various US locations:

Flights

All passengers will undergo medical screening getting on-board.

Individuals ‘facing medical emergencies or requiring return due to bereavement in the family, students, pregnant women, elderly, or those facing expiry of visas will be given priority’ will be given utmost priority.

These high priority passengers will be selected on a random basis.

The Indian Government made it mandatory for all returnees to use the Aarogya Setu app and maintain self-quarantine until 14 days from the day of their arrival.

Migrants Worried!

As India begins the world’s largest evacuation mission, now the focus is on migrant workers who will be returning from the destination nations.

Migrants

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) alone has 8-9 million Indian migrant workers. The Council includes six states, namely, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.

50 percent of these migrant workers are unskilled, while 30 percent are semi-skilled, and the rest are skilled.

Together, these workers make up nearly 50 percent of India’s foreign exchange remittance revenues.

A survey conducted on 40 migrants from the GCC group concluded that workers are demanding continued work assurance, protection of work contracts and residence permits to accept the evacuation.

Financial Assistance

As an immediate relief, they are demanding financial assistance in paying rents, loans and EMIs, and affordable healthcare.

Only a quarter of those who lost jobs and having health issues are ready to return home.

What if a similar situation arises in other regions too? In that case, how will the government handle the situation?

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Posted by IndianEra, 07/05/2020