Hero Image

Only 7% NRIs opted for paid quarantine in Kerala

KOCHI: Most non-resident Indians (NRIs) who returned to the state in the recent special flights are finding it difficult to afford the paid institutional quarantine, with only 7% of them opting for it.


The state government had tied up with hotels and resorts offering rooms in the range of Rs 2,000-Rs 10,000/day for the facility.



As on June 2, 15,376 persons who arrived from abroad were sent to institutional quarantine, of whom only 1,056 opted for the paid facility.

"Only a small number of NRIs are opting for paid quarantine and that's a matter of concern. We analysed the trend of people coming from abroad and other states and found that a large number of people are staying in the government's institutional quarantine because we offer rooms with good facilities and food. But this is adding to the state's financial woes," a senior bureaucrat said.

Migration experts, however, said this was expected as many returnees can't afford paid quarantine.

60% of Gulf migrants do not earn good money


Almost 60% of the Gulf migrants are unskilled or semi-skilled workers and they don’t earn good money. And those who are making good money may not be returning now,” said S Irudaya Rajan, professor at Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.

The state government had identified 356 hotels across the state for the paid facility. The district-wise breakup is as follows: Thiruvananthapuram (36 hotels, 1,113 rooms), Kollam (19 hotels, 488 rooms), Pathanamthitta (16 hotels, 260 rooms), Alappuzha (10 hotels, 338 rooms), Kottayam (15 hotels, 274 rooms), Idukki (28 hotels, 736 rooms), Ernakulam (58 hotels, 2,373 rooms), Thrissur (18 hotels, 402 rooms), Palakkad (25 hotels, 493 rooms), Malappuram (32 hotels, 417 rooms), Kozhikode (20 hotels, 487 rooms), Wayanad (46 hotels, 734 rooms), Kannur (18 hotels, 313 rooms) and Kasaragod (15 hotels, 460 rooms).

With not many NRIs opting for paid quarantine, a few of the five-star hotels that had initially shown interest have backed out. “There is not much demand. We need to have at least 15 to 20 rooms occupied in paid institutional quarantine. Otherwise, we will be incurring further losses,” general manager of a fivestar hotel said.

READ ON APP