Indians stuck in UAE as Saudi, Kuwait tighten Covid-19 curbs

SAJI CHERIYAN, A LEADING MEMBER OF THE INDIAN COMMUNITY, SAID HE HAD OFFERED SHELTER IN FUJAIRAH TO AROUND 400 BLUECOLLAR WORKERS, SOME OF WHOM HAD BEEN STUCK FOR MORE THAN 10 DAYS.

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of Indian workers en route to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been stranded in the United Arab Emirates after the other two countries tightened Covid-19-related travel restrictions, with many reluctant to avail of free tickets to return home.

The United Arab Emiratres ( UAE) is the key transit point for Indian workers travelling to several West Asian countries, and the Dubai airport handled 4.3 million Indian passengers last year, a majority of them travelling to or from Mumbai and New Delhi.

The Indian workers were stranded in the UAE after Kuwait banned the entry of noncitizens for two weeks from February 7, and Saudi Arabia suspended the entry of people travelling from 20 countries, including India, on February 4. The move followed a rise in the number of new Covid-19 cases in both countries.

Last week, the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi advised Indian citizens not to travel to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait via the UAE, and also asked travellers stranded in the UAE to return home.

On Tuesday, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan said that stranded Indians in need of help should approach Indian missions in the UAE.

“Stranded Indian nationals on their way to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait via UAE who may require assistance for repatriation to India are advised to contact our Consulate in Dubai or Embassy at Abu Dhabi,” he tweeted.

Though there are no official figures for the number of stranded Indians, the Gulf News newspaper reported that Indian community groups have “recorded the appeal for support from more than 1,000 stranded passengers, most of whom hail from Kerala”.

A majority of the stranded passengers were headed to Saudi Arabia.

Saji Cheriyan, a leading member of the Indian community, said he had offered shelter in Fujairah to around 400 stranded blue-collar workers, some of whom had been stuck for more than 10 days.

An online campaign has been launched to seek support for people from Karnataka stuck in Dubai, the report said.