The Indian Embassy in Riyadh has reported that a total of 1,583 Indians have returned to India till October 6.
"The third and fourth flights of the second batch of deportees arrived at New Delhi and Lucknow, respectively. With this, the total number of deportees that have been repatriated in the second batch has reached 1,162," a statement from the Embassy of India in Riyadh said.
The total number of Indian deportees repatriated from the Saudi Kingdom stands at 1,583. Out of these 811 were from Riyadh and 351 from Jeddah.
Earlier, in May 2020, 421 deportees were repatriated, out of which 207 were from Jeddah and 214 from Riyadh.
The mission appreciated the cooperation extended by Saudi Arabia, including Saudi airlines and GACA (General Authority of Civil Aviation), state governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
At present, there are 419 deportees in Riyadh and 140 in Jeddah. Indian Mission and Consulate officials are closely coordinating with Saudi Arabia and India to repatriate the stranded deportees.
It said, the mission is facing difficulty due to the uncertainty of flights and COVID-19 health protocols including mandatory quarantine. It is arranging the next flight, tentatively scheduled for next week.
( With inputs from ANI )
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