<![CDATA[India's massive repatriation effort from 12 countries begins with scramble to get on flights]>

Since Mumbai native Alex Johnson's work contract in Saudi Arabia ended more than a month ago, the former cashier in a restaurant has been surviving on one meal a day to make his funds last while waiting to return to India.

The 35-year-old, who did not want to use his real name out of concerns there might be repercussions from his former employer, is desperate to see his two-year-old son.

In Singapore, Ramya Rekha Chola who is 29 weeks pregnant needs to return to Kurnool in southern India at least before her 32nd week of pregnancy to give birth. She had arrived in the Southeast Asian country on February 24 on a tourist visa and was due to return to India on April 24.

Both are among the hundreds of thousands of Indian citizens stranded in more than a dozen countries worldwide where they were on holiday, studying or on business when India closed its borders on March 22 and banned all incoming international flights.

In addition, there are about 17 million Indian nationals who live abroad, mostly in the Gulf countries, and those who have lost their jobs are also eager to return home.

The first phase of a massive exercise to bring these non-resident Indians home began on Thursday night with two flights from the United Arab Emirates " where an estimated 3.3 million Indians live and work " landing with more than 300 passengers. Many of the passengers were destined for the southern state of Kerala " the biggest source of Indians in the Gulf.

Before May 13, some 15,000 citizens from 12 countries will be brought back in planes operated by national airline Air India and naval ships as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Vande Bharat (Hail India) mission, overseen by his External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: AP alt=Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: AP

Indian media quoted civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri as saying that 200,000 Indians abroad had registered for repatriation " resulting in its website crashing on Wednesday " and that the final number could be twice that.

Flights have been planned from Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, as well as cities such as London and New York.

The Indian High Commission in the Maldives posted images on Twitter of a warship entering Male harbour ahead of Friday's planned evacuation of some 1,000 people while a naval vessel is expected to arrive at Dubai's Port Rashid.

The last large-scale evacuation India undertook was in 1990, when it brought home 170,000 citizens from Kuwait during the Gulf war.

But the mammoth logistics exercise is not without hiccups. India's consulate in Dubai said it received about 200,000 requests from nationals seeking repatriation " mostly workers who were unemployed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Facebook page of the High Commission of India in Singapore on Thursday afternoon was filled with questions from anxious citizens, saying they had not received confirmation of their flights despite signing up as instructed. There were also people asking if more destinations would be added to the list or if the government would help their relatives stuck in India to return to Singapore.

So far, there are four flights leaving Singapore for India from May 8 to 13 heading to Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore starting at S$342 (US$240) for an economy seat that selected passengers would have to pay for on their own.

There are about 350,000 Indian nationals living in Singapore studying or working in industries ranging from financial services, to IT, and construction.

One of those looking to leave Singapore is student Jinto Raphel Puthoor, 25. He recently completed his studies at Beacon International College Singapore in April but has not been able to find a job. "No job, financial loss, so I want to return," he said, adding that there were still no flights from Singapore to his hometown in Kerala.

An Indian national checks in at Dubai International Airport as the first wave of the Hail India evacuation gets under way. Photo: AFP alt=An Indian national checks in at Dubai International Airport as the first wave of the Hail India evacuation gets under way. Photo: AFP

Johnson and Chola, who spoke to This Week in Asia on Thursday, said they had not yet received confirmation of their flights either. A look at Facebook groups such as "Indians in Singapore" or "Indians in Middle East" run by overseas or non-resident Indians who are generally seen as supportive of Modi's government had desperate pleas for help to return and complaints about the slow pace of confirmation from the diplomatic missions organising the repatriations.

Back in India, two major concerns troubling those who are spearheading the repatriation measures are how the influx of people will be quarantined to prevent a spread of the virus when they return to India, which now has 53,000 infections, and who would foot the bill for the logistics.

Pinarayi Vijayan, chief minister of Kerala, wrote to Modi on Tuesday saying the preparations were inadequate and it would be "dangerous" to resettle them without strict health protocols.

To address that, the government said all returnees would be screened for symptoms of Covid-19 before the journey. Upon their return, they would be subject to a medical exam and then placed under quarantine for 14 days.

There are concerns though that if infections from returning Indians rise, it will add further stress to India's strapped health care system.

Evacuees have also criticised the government's move to charge them for the cost of the flight journey and quarantine in hotels " only certain groups such as the elderly can serve their quarantine order at home " saying not all of them will be able to afford it. Fees for the flights are between 15,000 rupees (US$200) and 100,000 rupees.

Ishan, a 35-year-old former luxury services company manager who was made redundant last month, told Agence France-Presse: "We are upset over the failure of our government. What about the people with no money? How are you helping them?"

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and Kok Xinghui

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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