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Pravasi Sangham to stage Parliament march

KANNUR: The Kerala Pravasi Sangham (KPS) will hold a Parliament march on December 3 to demand a comprehensive emigration policy to address the ‘plight’ of emigrant workers in the Middle East countries.

KPS president P.T. Kunhimohammed said at a press conference here on Wednesday that the march would be inaugurated by Brinda Karat.

He said the emigrant workers, working in adverse climatic conditions and enriching their State with remittances, were not getting the treatment they deserved.

Those settled in the Western countries deposit a major share of their earnings in foreign banks, he said adding national-level initiatives were being organised to woo prosperous expatriates in the West.

Mr. Kunhimohammed said while an estimated 30 lakh people from the State were working abroad, 15 lakh expatriate Malayalis had returned to the State. Most of them were in deep crisis due to unemployment and chronic diseases. Nothing has been done to rehabilitate expatriate domestic and construction workers who had to come back, he said.

The KPS would highlight its major demand — to use the emigration funds collected by the Central government for the rehabilitation and welfare of emigrant workers. The Central government had so far collected nearly 10,000 crore as emigration deposit, he said.

Mr. Kunhimohammed said 70 per cent of the fund was collected from Malayali emigrants. Outdated emigration rules should be amended, he added. The KPS will also seek to end the Centre’s apathy towards the airports of the State. He said cancellation of flights and delays at Karipur airport were adversely affecting the livelihood of many Malayalis. Airline companies were being ‘cruel’ to the people of the State with recurrent hike in fares, he added.

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