Thiruvananthapuram – The government of the southern Indian state of Kerala on Wednesday announced that it will meet all expenses of people from the state who return from Saudi Arabia after Nov. 3 when the amnesty period deadline ends. “We have asked the central government (in Delhi) to chip in. Even if they do not come to our help, we will meet all the expenses of those who have to return from Saudi Arabia,” Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said after the weekly Cabinet meeting. “The next Cabinet meeting would also take up a rehabilitation scheme for returnees,” he was quoted as saying by the Indian media. “The exact numbers (of those who will leave Saudi Arabia) would be known only in the coming days, as the Indian Embassy officials there are on the job,” Chandy was quoted as saying. State Minister for Diaspora K.C. Joseph said that of the one million Keralites in the Kingdom at least 10,000 people have so far registered for their return or regularization of papers. “We have decided to open three offices at Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, which would be managed by the Norka committee and all people who require assistance to return would be helped,” said Joseph. Norka committee is the Kerala government panel looking after diaspora interest in association with the Kerala-based organizations in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile in Riyadh, the Indian Embassy announced that the last date for submission of fresh application for Emergency Certificates (ECs) at the Embassy is Oct. 31 for those who fall within the concessions announced during the grace period. The applications collected on Oct. 31 will be issued ECs on Saturday (Nov. 2). The embassy has set up help cells at Tarheel and Labor Office in Riyadh to assist those who are not eligible under the grace period concessions. Their cases need to be handled at the labor office during office hours. Special help lines are set up at the labor office manned by the embassy officials to assist Indian nationals. Similar arrangements are in place at Tarheel as well. The embassy helpline numbers are: 0501699879 / 0501700106 / 0501699895 and 0501699894
