As the Government is yet to take a call on bringing back Indians from the Gulf countries, the Navy is readying its three warships for the possible evacuation. The national carrier Air India and transport planes of the IAF may also be deployed for the mission likely to commence after May three when the national lockdown ends.
In the backdrop of several Indians working in the Gulf countries informing the embassies their intention to return in the backdrop of coronavirus pandemic and massive job loss due to drop in oil prices, the Government, while yet to take a final view, has asked the armed forces and the Air India to be on standby, sources said here on Wednesday. The stakeholders were also asked to apprise the Government of the possible evacuation plan, they added.
As per an estimate, there are more than five to seven million Indians in the Gulf countries and the ministry of external affairs has already initiated consultations with the States here for the necessary arrangements.
Moreover, the embassies in the Gulf region were also directed to firm up report about those willing to return and provide all assistance to them, officials said. Discussions between various wings of the Government were also on as to who will bear the expenses of the evacuation-will it be those returning or the central government, sources added. Apart from the evacuation, the centre has to plan in collaboration with the states about the quarantine process of the returning people and sources said talks were on between the stakeholders.
As regards the Navy, INS Jalashwa, a 17,000-ton amphibious warship or landing platform dock, can accommodate 1,000 to 1,200 people, and is now getting ready at its base at Visakhapatnam. The other two smaller such ships are in the western seaboard and are also on a standby mode, sources said adding all the weaponry and other items were removed to make place for ferrying people.
In case, if smaller number of people are to be brought back, the IAF may press into service its C-17 and IL-76 planes, they said adding these planes recently evacuated more than 200 Indians from Iran and Wuhan. Besides the armed forces, the government has the option of tapping the civil aviation sector which has more than 500 aircraft available for the evacuation, sources said.
In the past, India brought back more than 1.5 lakh of its citizens in 1990 after Iraq launched military offensive against Kuwait. Similarly, in 2015, 5,500 people were evacuated after Saudi Arabia launched air strikes against Houthi rebels.
