Many Indians grounded in the UAE, who have been waiting to return to their homeland, have been asked to beware of fake circulars on social media. These circulars have been telling them to share their personal details to the email IDs of the Indian Consulate in Dubai for repatriation during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Lately, the fake circular has come to the notice of the Indian Consulate in Dubai. The CGI Dubai tweeted to warn Indian nationals to ignore any such fake advisory. On the other hand, the Indian Embassy based in Abu Dhabi also rubbished all such messages doing rounds on social media.
It has come to our notice about circulation of messages regarding details of visit visa holders, elders, jobless etc. to be sent to Indian Consulate Dubai for repatriation. CGI Dubai has not issued any such advisory.Indian nationals should take note of this. @IndembAbuDhabi
— India in Dubai (@cgidubai) April 14, 2020
Meanwhile, thousands of Indian nationals across the world are waiting to board the flight back home. News has it that 25000 Indian citizens across categories including tourists, students and travellers are stranded in different parts of the world, and several Indian citizens are grounded in Dubai due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
India, too, has extended the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic till May 3.
The Supreme Court of India has decreed that stranded foreign nationals cannot be repatriated unless lockdown travel norms imposed by the government are relaxed.
Reportedly, the economic losses incurred by the COVID-19 crisis have triggered job losses and pay cuts in the UAE. This unexpected event has stressed out the expats. To deal with this crisis, the Indian Embassy is offering counselling via phone to hundreds of expats in the UAE.
Pavan Kapoor, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, said that expats willing to avail medical and psychological counselling services can write to [email protected].