BENGALURU: Even as the Union government is operating flights and naval ships to bring back Indians stranded abroad, Naveen Kumar Reddy - a resident of Anekal near Bengaluru - has lost all hope of returning home. Stuck in Malaysia with his wife in her sixth month of pregnancy and mother who suffers from pyelonephritis, Naveen Kumar Reddy has sent multiple travel requests to the Indian High Commission in Malaysia but to no avail.
Naveen Kumar Reddy is one of over 75 Karnataka residents stranded in Malaysia. Why? Because the Karnataka government is yet to give the Ministry of External Affairs its consent to receive citizens from Malaysia. While Tamil Nadu and Kerala have arranged for their residents to be airlifted from Malaysia, those from Karnataka continue to await intimation from the high commission. Students, temporary work permit holders, pregnant women, and senior citizens are stuck with no money, no help, already expired or near-expiry visas, yearning to return home.
“There are flights to New Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the weekend but we are not being allowed to board those flights,” said Bhargava BC, an MBA student who put together a WhatsApp group of Kannadigas stranded in Malaysia. Bhargava BC is a student of a private college in Bengaluru who, along with five others, went to Malaysia for an internship program on March 13. The students are struggling with little money and no assurance of return.
The students reached out to other Kannadigas in Malaysia via social media and have put together a list of 75 people including four children, nine senior citizens, and two pregnant women. “We have reached out to all possible venues but nobody has called us even to check how we are doing. The last communication was an email from the high commission asking us to wait for further intimation. Visas of many people have already expired and we are facing very difficult times,” said Reddy.