Saudi Arabia: Second batch of Indian deportees to leave for Chennai on September 24

A plane carrying the second batch of Indian deportees from Saudi Arabia will leave for Chennai on September 24, the Indian Embassy said on Saturday.

In a statement, the Embassy said that it has been trying to resolve the issue of Indians in Saudi deportation centers in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs for quite some time now.

"Currently, the Mission in Riyadh, Consulate in Jeddah, and MEA are arranging flights and quarantine facilities for the second batch of deportees. The first flight from Riyadh-Chennai is scheduled to depart on September 24,” the statement said.

It said that further flights from Riyadh and Jeddah are currently being worked out. The Mission and Consulate officials are in regular touch with deportation authorities, it added.

The first batch of around 500 deportees was sent to Hyderabad in May. Several agencies were involved at both ends and several clearances were needed, besides strictly following health protocols to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in India, it added.

There are over 2.6 million Indians working in Saudi Arabia, the largest expatriate community in the Gulf country.