Kerala govt evacuates three Palakkad natives from Karachi

Kochi: The state govt evacuated three Palakkad natives who were stranded along with five other Indian passengers at Karachi airport after their flight was diverted due to tensions in the Middle East. Dr Rashmi Menon from Kalady, her husband Krishna Das Nagalur and their three-year-old daughter Smrithi Menon were travelling to Kuwait from Azerbaijan when the flight was diverted. Officials with Norka Roots said that the three were moved to Sri Lanka and would be brought to New Delhi by Monday night."They were travelling on an Air Arabia flight from Baku to Kuwait via Sharjah. Due to the conflict, the flight was rerouted and made an emergency landing in Karachi. The Keralite couple contacted Norka Roots through Manikuttan Edakkattuvazhi, a Loka Kerala Sabha member in Kuwait, who coordinated with the ministry of external affairs to facilitate their return to India. They arrived in Colombo by flight on Monday afternoon," a Norka Roots official said. The family is scheduled to depart for Delhi on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight at 12.30am on Tuesday and then proceed to Kochi on an Air India flight in the early hours of Tuesday.Tension affects Iftar gatheringsThe Malayali diaspora in GCC countries is grappling with anxiety and disruptions to everyday life and peace.The tension affected the massive Iftar gatherings, organised in tents set up at Naif in Deira, Dubai, by the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), a prominent social welfare organisation for expatriates from Kerala."KMCC's tents used to serve Iftar meals to 3,500-4,000 people seated on carpets. After the war erupted, instead of seating them, the Iftar food is being packed and distributed so that they could return to their residences to break the fast. The move followed instructions to avoid gatherings in a single location so that, if an unfortunate incident happened, fewer people are hit," said KMCC former office-bearer Ibrahim Elettil. He said no major incidents were reported on Sunday.George Nixon, a Malayali journalist in Kuwait, said that the attempt to stockpile goods were made only briefly on Sunday. "I went to a hypermarket on Monday and there was no rush. Sirens are sounded often as attacks continue," said Nixon.