2,000 Telugu NRIs To Land At Gannavaram Airport On Monday  

VIJAYAWADA: All arrangements have been made to bring the first batch of Telugu NRIs stranded abroad due to ongoing COVID-19 lockdown. The first Air India flight is scheduled to arrive at Gannavaram Airport on Monday morning, where more than 2,000 people are expected to land as per the Government's estimates.

Speaking to the media about the State Government's preparedness in handling the influx of the people, Krishna district Joint Collector Dr K Madhavi Latha, who is also the supervising officer said that most of them coming on Monday were from Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Godavari districts.

She explained that the people coming from various countries would first land in Mumbai and from there they would reach Shamshabad Airport at Hyderabad. They will be brought to Gannavaram Airport directly from there. Once they land at the Gannavaram Airport, medical officials would conduct health-screening tests at the airport itself. Officials have already put up health desks and medical officials are ready for the screeningthe passengers, she said while explaining the procedure.

She said that the passengers would be sent for the mandatory 14-day quarantine. ''If the people do not want to go for the free-quarantine centres set up by the State government, they can opt for the paid quarantine centres which we have kept ready in various hotels in Vijayawada, she said. Four categories of rooms have been allotted and the passengers will be ferried in special buses to these hotels.

Those who test negative for the COVID-19 virus after the 14-day quarantine period will be sent home. Medical and Sanitation staff will be available at the paid quarantine centres. There will also be special surveillance of these people under the supervision of the local police, she said.

''We will register the passengers under the Aarogya Setu App and the passengers will also be given Indian SIM cards for us to communicate with them,'' Madhavi Latha said.

Stranded Indians in countries across the world will fly back home over the weekend in special Air India flights as part of India’s Vande Bharat Mission, the country’s massive repatriation operation to help those stuck in other countries due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown.

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