Centre’s Help Sought For Smooth Repatriation Of Bodies Of Deceased Migrants To Odisha

Bhubaneswar: People from Odisha living abroad have sought the Centre’s intervention to ensure smooth repatriation of bodies of deceased migrants to the state.

They have pointed out that the repatriation process has been badly affected after Air India scrapped its service to Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar three months ago.

Social worker and Bahrain Odia Samaj founder Arun Kumar Praharaj, took up the matter with Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan. He said earlier Air India was flying to Bhubaneswar via Delhi or Mumbai making it possible to send coffins to the state.

However, after Air India terminated its flight services to Bhubaneswar completely, it has become difficult to ensure timely handover of the body of a deceased Odia migrant to the family back home, Praharaj was quoted by TNIE as saying.

As per the information received from the employer companies, only Air India has the authority to carry coffin from abroad as all embassies have tie-up with the national carrier.

After suspension of the flight service to Bhubaneswar, the nearest airport to which it carries a coffin is Visakhapattnam or Kolkata. “This make it extremely difficult for poor families of the migrants as a hearse van or ambulance charges Rs 18,000 or more to transport body to anywhere in the state. Besides, it also delays transport of the coffin. This problem is faced by Odias in many middle-east countries, including Bahrain,” he said.

Praharaj sought immediate steps to resume Air India services to Bhubaneswar or make alternative arrangement with Indigo or any other connecting airline to carry the coffin to Bhubaneswar. He also demanded that registration of employment contracts of migrant workers with respective Indian embassies be made mandatory to empower the embassies to take necessary actions for resolving the issues faced by migrant workers.