Vijayan seeks urgent steps to repatriate Keralites stranded in Kabul

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday requested the Centre to take urgent steps to repatriate Malayalis stranded in Kabul in view of the Taliban capturing power in Afghanistan.

As directed by the CM, the NORKA Roots, the state-run welfare agency of non-resident Keralites, submitted a letter to the External Affairs Ministry in this regard, government sources here said.

As many as 36 people, who got stranded in Kabul, have so far contacted NORKA seeking help, they said.

Harikrishnan Namboothiri K, the CEO of the agency, contacted the Malayalis, among the stranded, the other day, they said adding that steps were on to trace whether more Keralites were trapped in the Afghanistan capital. The NORKA has already passed the information they received to the External Affairs Ministry, sources added.