Telangana government is facing an altogether different dilemma on how to deal with the vociferous demand of affluent NRI’s returning from abroad, particularly the US and Europe, in special flights for home quarantine and the poor Gulf expatriates batting for the reimbursement of the paid quarantine charges.
With four flights bringing as many as 798 foreign returnees to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad in the last few days, the State government had identified as many as 60 hotels in the Twin Cities, which were designated for quarantining all expatriates. It offered ₹5,000, ₹15,000 and ₹30,000 packages for 14 days. In all, 1500 hotel rooms were identified to accommodate 3,000 people.
Several top star hotels had been accommodating the foreign returnees ever since their arrival in the city. But, officials are being bombarded with request from the NRIs that they should be allowed to go home where they are prepared to get home quarantined. The Ministry of Home Affairs has clearly said home quarantine will not be allowed at any cost.
But, the NRIs, according to official sources, reportedly argued with the authorities at the airport that several of them have undergone tests in the US and Europe before boarding their flights and had tested COVID -negative. Some returnees contended that they stayed in palatial villas and bungalows and preferred to go home instead of staying in hotels to complete the 14-days quarantine period. Everyday the office of Health Minister is flooded with request for home quarantine and no decision has been taken so far, officials maintained.
Woes of Gulf migrants
If the well-to-do NRIs from the US and Europe wanted to go home, the Gulf migrants coming from West Asia are finding it difficult to pay the charges for the 14-day stay in hotels.
Several expatriates lamented at the airport that they are returning home having lost their jobs and forcing them to pay anywhere between ₹ 5,000 and ₹ 30,000 for stay was beyond their capacity. Gulf Migrants Rights associations have taken serious exception to the forcible payment.
“It is pitiable that these workers are asked to shell out money for quarantine stay. They had lost everything in Gulf and are eager to go home. Forcing them to pay is unfortunate. Government should allow free quarantine for such hapless expatriates,” a spokesperson of Migrants Rights body said unwilling to be identified.
Official sources said the issue of the NRIs and Gulf expatriates came up for discussion on Wednesday at a meeting. It is understood that the Health Minister is likely to take up the issue with Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and make a plea to the Centre to give certain relaxations to the foreign returnees.
