Japan, South Korea missing from first list of countries for evacuation of Indians stranded abroad

NEW DELHI: Heavy resentment prevails among the Indians stranded in Japan and South Korea as these countries do not figure in the first list issued by the Indian government for operating evacuation flights.

Starting May 7, as many as 64 Air India flights and two naval ships will operate for seven days till May 13 to bring back 14,800 Indians stuck in the USA, UK, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Singapore, Malaysia, Oman, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Bangladesh.

To be available to the Indians only with compelling reasons, the flights will cost Rs. 100,000 from USA, Rs. 50,000 from the UK, and Rs. 12,000 per person from Dhaka.

More than two lakh Indians had registered their names for repatriation in various countries, and out of this UAE alone has 1.5 lakh Indians wanting to return to India. More than half of the Indians opting to return from UAE are from Kerala. It is because of this reason, Kerala will have the maximum number of 15 flights landing at its soil ferrying people from this south Indian state.

However, Japan and South Korea where the number of Indians stranded is in a few hundred are missing from the list. The Indian government had evacuated Indians from countries like China and Iran well before the lockdown was declared in India.

Anyways, the news has left the Indians Japan and South Korea disheartened. They fear that their turn may not come even in the second and subsequent imminent lists also as the number of Indians to be evacuated from other countries are in lakhs and it might take months to evacuate them.

“Japan does not figure in the first list of 12 countries where India is going to start the evacuation process from May 7. We fear that we won’t be on the second list or even later. We have been running from pillar to post, and have written a number of times to the Indian embassy in Tokyo but to no avail, as we don’t get a definite reply from another side,” Rahul Jog, an Indian stranded in Japan.

“It would be nice if we get some schedule from the embassy or the last date so that we get to know how much we have to wait in Japan,” he adds.

Another scare that has left the Indians wanting to return to India sleepless nights is the prediction of a high-intensity earthquake followed by a Tsunami.

“Indian government is thinking about those who are huge in numbers but what about those who are stuck in countries like Japan where the healthcare infrastructure is already stressed, and the country is staring at high magnitude earthquake of above 9 at Richter scale as well as tsunami,” said Shweta, the wife of Kamal stranded in Tokyo.

Shweta said the small countries like Indonesia have started registering the Indians who want to return home but there is no word about it inJapan.

The response of the Embassy of India in Tokyo:

The Indian embassy in Tokyo continues to suggest Indians in Japan to have patience but hasn’t given any return schedule. The embassy said the return to India will be based on priority as it is preparing to first send back those who have the most compelling reasons.

In a communiqué addressed to the Indians, Anurag Goel, Minister (Consular), Embassy of India in Tokyo said, “The protocols for such return are currently under development by relevant authorities in India. Return to India will be based on priority, so please work with us as we prepare to first send back those that have the most compelling reasons.”

The embassy claimed that it has already done the related spadework and has collected the names of those who wanted to return to India.

Also read: India to send aircraft, naval ships to evacuate its citizens stranded abroad

“The information we have already collected is only now beginning to be collected in other countries so thank you for having moved early to help us be better prepared. If you know of anyone else in the same situation, and if they have not filled up the form circulated earlier, please encourage them to do so,” he added.

Response from Maharashtra Chief Minister:  

In an officials tweet, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray has asked the people from Maharashtra stuck abroad to fill the online form and the same information would be shared with the Ministry of External affairs.

“If you are from Maharashtra & are stranded abroad, we request you to fill the form linked below. The State will pass this information & coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs to facilitate your return as soon as the restrictions are lifted,” the CM said on his Twitter handle (https://twitter.com/CMOMaharashtra/status/1257571654164570114?s=20) on May 5.