Among the returnees, 10 lakhs are those who have lost their jobs, said a Norka document.
PRAVASISAMWAD.COM
The Covid-19 has huge impact on employment and migration of people from one place to another, mainly those who are working as migrant workers in a foreign land.
Only one Indian State, Kaerala recorded a massive migration of some 15, 00,000 (15 lakhs) people returning to the State from the six Gulf countries in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The figures cited by the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (Norka) Department, is between May 2020 and June 2021. “Among the returnees, 10, 00,000 (10 lakhs) are those who have lost their jobs,” the Norka document said.
Among the overall Kerala NRI returnees from across the world, over 96 per cent from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member-nations. The maximum returnees are from UAE (8,90,485), followed by Saudi Arabia (1,73,561), Qatar (1,47,917), Oman (1,36,445), Kuwait (52,032) and Bahrain (44,246).
The reverse migration is a harsh reality for a state which does not have Industrial infrastructure and employment opportunities to accommodate such a large population, which does not any possibility of going back to work as an NRI very soon.
Among the overall Kerala NRI returnees from across the world, over 96 per cent from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member-nations. The maximum returnees are from UAE (8,90,485), followed by Saudi Arabia (1,73,561), Qatar (1,47,917), Oman (1,36,445), Kuwait (52,032) and Bahrain (44,246).
The situation is alarming in terms of employment, because a large chunk of Kerala’s population depend on the Gulf countries and remittances by the overseas Keralites is highest (Rs 2.27 lakh crore as of December 2020) in India.