BHUBANESWAR: With tension raging in the Middle East, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday said he was deeply concerned about reports of Odias stranded in the Gulf countries and directed chief secretary Anu Garg to take necessary steps to facilitate their return from the war-torn countries.
Majhi, who reviewed the situation at Lok Seva Bhawan here, stressed on the need to bring back Odia travelers and workers safely and asked Garg to closely monitor the situation arising out of the ongoing Iran-US war in the region.
On March 2, the chief secretary had convened a high-level meeting on the Middle East situation, while Odisha Paribar OSD Pritish Panda was designated as the nodal officer for coordination with the Odia diaspora.
The CMO said that the Odisha Paribar directorate has received about 200 phone calls from stranded Odias in the Middle East seeking assistance and is coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to help facilitate their return. The ministry has also set up a special control room and issued a toll-free helpline number 1800-118-797 in view of the current situation in the West Asia and the Gulf region, it added.
Talking to TNIE, Panda said that the Odisha Parivar directorate has held discussions with office-bearers of Odia Associations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and other countries to gather information about the ground situation there. “We have also been urging them to sensitise migrant workers to register themselves with the MEA through the toll-free number to get necessary updates,” he said.
Officials said as of now 35 Odia tourists who were stranded in Dubai have returned to the state. Nine tourists returned to Bhubaneswar on March 7 via Kochi, while the remaining tourists returned on March 8 via Mumbai on a special Air India Express flight.
As per the information received from the MEA, around 65,000 Indian nationals have, so far, returned safely to India from the Middle East through special commercial flights.
Founder of Bahrain Odia Samaj Arun Kumar Praharaj informed that the Indian Embassy in the country has advised them to stay calm and follow the guidelines of Bahrain government. For the stranded travelers, the Embassy is promptly assisting and facilitating Saudi visas to allow them to exit through Saudi based airports, he said.
Meanwhile, chief secretary Garg has directed secretaries of administrative departments and collectors to ensure uninterrupted supply of cooking gas, petrol and diesel across the districts.