TIRUCHY: An organization of volunteers is proving to be a saviour for Keralites stranded in Tamil Nadu. So far, 150 Keralites, mostly students, living in Tiruchy reached home through transport arranged by the All India Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (AIKMCC).
People back home are sharing contact details of AIKMCC’s co-ordinators among Malayalees in Tamil Nadu. With Tiruchy being an educational hub, several students and their parents are calling AIKMCC coordinators to know about transportation arrangements to Kerala.
“We make travel arrangements for whoever wants to go to Kerala. We started this on May 1 and put our details on the website. People started calling us and we explained the formalities for getting the e-pass from Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments. Our volunteers will help those who are not familiar with online applications. Once they get the passes from the two States, we will make travel arrangement. The passengers have to pay only the transportation charge,” said Muhammed Sageer, AIKMCC, Coordinator, Tiruchy.
Depending on the number of passengers, the AIKMCC would arrange the bus or car for them. “A bus would roughly have about 25 passengers and car 4 passengers.
The cost would be shared by passengers. We will ensure that each passenger is entering the vehicle with passes. Apart from this, we give food, gloves and mask to passengers,” added Sageer.
Several passengers also appreciated the efforts taken by AIKMCC, which is affiliated to Indian Union Muslim League.
“Since the college is closed, I was staying with my relatives in Tiruchy. I got AIKMCC contact details in one of the WhatsApp groups and contacted their coordinators in Tiruchy. I made the application for e-pass and they made my travel arrangements,” said Krishnadas, an engineering student.
The AIKMCC also helped Tamilians stranded in Kerala to come back.