Residents in India desperate to return as lockdown drags on
MANY WORRIED ABOUT LOSING JOBS WHILE OTHERS HAVE FAMILIES IN UAE
The extension of the lockdown in India till May 31 has come as a huge blow to stranded expats who are desperate to return to the UAE.
While some fear their jobs are at stake, others just want to be back with their kids in UAE.
Some have been stuck in India for over two months. They hoped to fly back to the UAE after May 15, but extension of the lockdown has dashed their hopes.
‘We went to see my mother who underwent operation’
“My company has already started looking for a replacement,” said Saravanan Sambasivam, 28, a Dubai-based HSE manager, stuck in Chennai. He said he had registered with the Federal Authority for Identity & Citizenship website to return to the UAE, but to no avail.
He and his wife Sandhiya left for Chennai along with their one-year-old son Nihith on March 12. “My mother underwent an operation and we flew down to see her. We had return tickets booked for March 27, but advanced the booking to March 19 as I had to get back to work, but we are stuck here,” he said.
Both he and his wife are on unpaid leave as they have exhausted their annual holidays.
“We are living on our savings and have bank loans to pay. Owing to the lockdown in India, there is little paediatric help available. My son’s vaccinations have been delayed for 55 days now,” he added.
‘My younger son has been having nightmares’
Supriya Sharma, 41, is desperate to be reunited with her Dubai-based children, aged nine and six. Supriya was set to fly back to Dubai last month.
She has been stuck in her parents’ house in New Delhi for more than a month now. “My younger son is very attached to me. He has been having nightmares,” she said, adding that her husband has been trying to explain the situation to the kids, but without much success.
Supriya said she went to India to see her brother who was undergoing a kidney transplant. She did not take her kids as she did not want to expose them to a hospital environment.
In an earnest appeal for help, Supriya said her younger son was unable to cope with his online studies without her. “He is lagging behind in his classes.”
‘My father was critically-ill’
Another stranded UAE resident in India is Rakshita Ravishankar who landed in the country on March 11. Her return was booked for March 19.
“My father fell critically ill and was in the ICU on ventilator. I had to fly down to see him. It has been two months now and I am away from my husband and my life in Dubai.”
‘My wife is not keeping well’
Similarly, Maninder Singh, who landed in India to see his terminally ill father on March 17, said: “My father died on April 2. I am waiting to return to the UAE. My wife and two children six-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son are in the UAE. My wife is managing on her own but is not keeping well as she has a kidney stone problem.”