SL nationals in Mumbai desperate to return home

By JAMILA HUSAIN  

Sri Lankan nationals, stranded in Mumbai as a result of the BIA closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have urged the government to take immediate steps to repatriate them back home, stating that many of them were staying in hotels and were facing financial difficulties. A local national, who contacted the Daily Mirror from Mumbai said that all nationals stranded there presently had got in touch with the Sri Lankan consulate in Mumbai and registered themselves, but they had not received any positive feedback. 

The local national said that it had been over two months since they were stranded overseas and questioned that if the government could get citizens from Seychelles, then why were local nationals who were stranded aboard being neglected. Thousands of local nationals remain stranded in several countries, with authorities on Sunday announcing that they would have to temporarily halt repatriating further nationals due to a spike in the number of positive COVID-19 patients among those who were repatriated from overseas in recent days. However yesterday the government said they would resume repatriations soon due to the large number of nationals stranded overseas.