A total of 176 Indians, including two infants, flew free-of-cost to Kochi, India, Wednesday on a chartered flight organised by a community organisation. The noble mission came as a big relief to those who had been undergoing distressing conditions and have been unable to go home due to Covid-19 pandemic scenario.

Pravasi Coordination Committee Qatar (PCCQ), a body of various Indian community organisations in the country, had announced last week the free chartered flight to help the most distressed and stranded members of the community.

Some of the passengers waiting at HIA to board the free chartered flight to Kochi 

The GoAir flight which took off from Hamad International Airport at 10.30am, landed in Kochi by 5pm.
“Within a day of the announcement, we had received about 1,500 applicants requesting for the travel facility. It was a difficult task to select passengers for this flight as all of them deserved to be repatriated at the earliest. Finally, we were able to provide assistance to 176 passengers to return to their homeland,” Nizar Kocheri, chairman, PCCQ, said.
He recalled that the decision to charter a free flight was taken considering the prevailing situation among some of the community members due to Covid-19, especially those who had reached Qatar on ‘On arrival Visa’, ‘Visit Visa’ as well as others on health and financial grounds.
VC Mashood, general convener of PCCQ noted that it was a great moment of happiness as the organisation was instrumental in helping so many people.

“It is a moment of fulfillment for us as we could repatriate a group of the most genuine and deserving community members. We are indebted to a large number of organisations and individuals for their support and encouragement in making this happen at the earliest,” he highlighted.

The official also said that the organisation is planning to help the other needy people to be repatriated and is hoping that more individuals and organisations will come forward to associate with such a noble mission.
“If more organisations and individuals come forward to assist the needy members of the community, we will be able to help many more by organising such flights to other destinations. All the little contributions will go a long way in helping the distressed members of the community,” he added.

Credit: Gulf-times

URL:https://www.gulf-times.com/story/667080/176-Indians-fly-to-Kochi-on-free-of-cost-chartered-flight?fbclid=IwAR0qU3dYIEOnGJ9g86T_7YF79jz4vNtuutc_qLIvtk7c4Sz5Djt_0sS3iX0