Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – P.K. Kunhalikutty, member of Indian parliament and general secretary of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), underscored the need for using Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) for coronavirus (COVID-19) emergencies in the Gulf countries. "India's Minister of External Affairs S. Jayashankar has informed me that the government of India is considering the allocation of ICWF for COVID emergencies abroad," he said in a statement seen by Saudi Gazette. The fund is meant mainly to be used for the welfare of the Indian expatriates in distress. There are millions of Indians working in the Gulf States, mainly in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Indian missions in these countries should proactively intervene to ensure wellbeing of the Indian nationals, mostly poor workers, he said. According to Kunhalikutty, most of the Indian expatriates in the Gulf are unskilled blue-collar workers who are going through challenging times and are struggling to meet even their basic needs in dire jobless situation arising out of the COVID pandemic. Indian diplomatic missions should step in to ensure provision of essential supplies and services to these workers, he said. "IUML MPs had written a letter to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) earlier. In response to the letter, Minister Jayashankar had a telephonic conversation with me, reviewing the crisis abroad," he said while claiming that the minister informed the government's willingness to authorize the Indian missions abroad to use ICWF for the welfare of COVID-affected Indians. In the letter, Kunhalikutty urged the minister to issue directives to the Indian missions abroad, particularly Saudi Arabia and UAE, to identify people in distress with the help of volunteers and extend all assistance to them in terms of food, medicines and accommodation, by spending out ICWF. The Muslim League leader noted that he has been getting panic calls from many Indian laborers, who are in need of essential goods. Kunhalikutty also stressed the necessity of Indian missions to work along with the Indian welfare and voluntary organizations like Kerala Muslim Cultural Center (KMCC), the largest Indian expatriate organization in the Gulf, which is the overseas affiliate of IUML. Kunhalikutty and other members of Parliament representing Muslim League —E.T. Mohammed Basheer, P.V. Abdul Wahab and K. Nawas Kani — also sent letters to Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Indian ambassador in Saudi Arabia, and Pavan Kapoor, ambassador in UAE, demanding their active intervention to ensure the welfare of Indian workers, especially labors who are living together in labor camps. KMCC sets up 24-hour help desk Hundreds of workers of the Saudi national chapter of KMCC here have swung into action to help the needy expatriates affected by the coronavirus pandemic situation all over the Kingdom, according to its Working President Ashraf Vengat. Speaking to Saudi Gazette, he said that KMCC has set up a 24-hour help desk that coordinates the relief work through social media and WhatsApp groups. "Our volunteers are distributing packets of food and medicine to large number of poor workers who are suffering from chronic diseases and staying at home. KMCC has also embarked on an intensive awareness campaign about the dos and don'ts related to coronavirus among expatriates and all these are strictly in line with the precautionary and preventive regulations and instructions issued by the Saudi authorities," he said. According to Vengat, KMCC volunteers are also extending support to workers with symptoms of the disease by making arrangements to take them to hospitals without any delay. "Our volunteers were in the forefront to complete the funeral procedures of Shahbas and Safwan, two young Indians from the southern state of Kerala, who died of corona in Madinah and Riyadh respectively. Our volunteers are also ready to donate blood to meet the emergency situation in any hospitals and health facilities across the Kingdom," he said while citing the latest incident of blood donation by KMCC volunteers in Mikhwa General Hospital in Al-Baha region. "We have alerted hospital officials in various regions about the readiness of our volunteers to donate blood at any time they wanted and are fully coordinating with the Health Department officials in this regard," he added. In a related development, Palayat Ahmad, president of Jeddah Central Committee of KMCC and Arimbra Aboobacker, general secretary, said that the committee started distribution of food packets among the poor and needy expatriates as part of its Karunya Hastam (Lending a Hand of Mercy) humanitarian initiative. "We have so far distributed 1,500 kits and are making arrangements to distribute another 2,000 kits, mainly in labor camps, and this is after meticulously collecting the list of the most deserving persons in coordination with 73 area committees of KMCC," Arimbra told Saudi Gazette. He noted that each kit consists of essential food supplies sufficient for an individual for at least 15 days. "Our volunteers are working in coordination with the local hospitals to make available of quick medical aid for sick people, especially those with respiratory problems," Arimbra said. "We had video conference on Wednesday with Dr. K.P. Faisal, a professor of Pariayaram Medical College in Kerala, about various aspects of coronavirus prevention as part of our intensive medical awareness programs," he said while thanking the world-class medical and quarantine facilities arranged by the Saudi authorities to stem the spread of coronavirus. It is noteworthy that the government of Kerala has decided to open help desks and offer medical assistance to the community amid a steady increase in the number of deaths of Keralites living in other countries. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the number of deaths among the Malayali community living abroad compelled the government to start COVID-19 help desks through the government Department of Non Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA). "Our biggest concern is about the deaths of several Keralites in countries like the US. Daily, we hear news of our people dying there. We are getting calls from our brethren who have no idea on what to do next," he said. The help desks will be operational in five countries where there are large Malayali populations with the first one to be opened in the UAE. "We have directed the ambassadors in the respective countries to coordinate with these help desks," the chief minister told reporters after a review meeting on the situation on Wednesday. At least 24 people from the state have died from the virus with most of the cases being reported from the US. The chief minister has also announced an online medical consultation facility for non-residential Keralites (NRKs).
