Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has urged the Central government to extend the air evacuation of Indians from Yemen till Saturday to enable all those who are holed up in different parts of the war-ravaged country to reach home safely.
The government of India had decided to end the air evacuation operation on Wednesday but extended it till Thursday following a request from a group of 140 nurses. handy has sought the extension following calls from several Keralites who are waiting for flights at the Sanaa international airport. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday, the Chief Minister said that several people were still stranded in Sanaa airport and nearby places. They are not able to return as there are no seats available in the flights. He, therefore, urged the government to take steps to extend the air operation at least till Saturday so that those stranded still in Yemen can return home safely. The Chief Minister also requested Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh who is coordinating the evacuation at Djibouti to make arrangements to bring back those Indians who can prove their identity even if they do not have passports or other documents. He had earlier brought to the notice of the government the plight of several nurses who were detained by some hospitals in the war-ravaged country.
He said the hospital managements were not releasing their passports and other documents as they would find it difficult to carry out day-to-day work in the absence of the nurses.
Chandy has also thanked the Pakistani government for steps taken to evacuate five Keralites from Yemen. These people are expected to reach the state on Thursday.
They were among the 11 Indians who travelled on a ship to Karachi from Yemen.
Meanwhile, a flight with 140 Indians from Sanaa is expected to arrive at Kochi International Airport on Thursday night. This may be last flight from Sanaa to Kochi if the operation is not extended further. Others left in Yemen will be evacuated through sea route. The authorities still do not have the exact figures of Indians in Yemen. The government had initially estimated their number at 4000. Although the country has already evacuated 4000 people till Wednesday many more are believed to be stranded in the country.
