The State is all set to receive the first batch of Non Resident Keralities, who expressed their wish to return to the state. The first two flights from UAE are expected to arrive in Kerala tomorrow, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
However, he said that the government was yet to get any reply from the Prime Minister on the State’s demand for mandatory pre-boarding Covid tests for those evacuated.
Vijayan said that they have got the operating procedure from the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Defence Ministry. These two ministries are coordinating the flights and the naval ships. The flights from Abu Dhabi and Dubai are expected at Kochi and Kozhikode airports respectively, he said. The state government has made all arrangements.
The Chief Minister said that DIG-level police officers will look after the security of the four international airports in the State and Kochi port where the expatriates will land.
He also told the media that efforts are on to bring the stranded students in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to Delhi and then to Kerala by special non-stop trains from Delhi. About 1,177 students from Kerala are in these four States – 723 in Delhi, 348 in Punjab, 89 in Haryana and 17 in Himachal Pradesh . Vijayan said that he had written to the Chief Ministers of these respective states to facilitate their travel, and specifically to the Delhi CM to arrange for trains to Kerala. Once the date of the special train is fixed, he said that arrangements will be made to bring all students to one place in Delhi, he said.
He mentioned that 6,802 Keralites from other states have reached Kerala. Already 2,03,189 people have registered through the Covid Jagratha Portal. 69,108 applied for pass and 38,862 passes were issued, he said. Most of the People arrived are from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Some also came from Maharashtra. Malappuram and Palakkad districts saw the highest number of arrivals, the Chief Minister said. .
Further, he said that the people should follow the guidelines during their travel and stay in the state. The people who come from hotspot areas will have to spend a week in government quarantine centre. Once tested negative, they will be sent home for further seven days quarantine. The people who test positive will be shifted to hospitals. Pregnant women and small children from other states and abroad will be quarantined at their homes, Vijayan said.
