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Mony K. Mathew

Kozhikode, Nov. 28

Despite assurances from the Centre and the Dubai Government that there is no room for worry, the crisis following the Dubai World seeking time to repay its dues has come as another shock to Kerala that has been witnessing a steady stream of its people returning jobless from the Gulf region over the last one year in the wake of the global economic slowdown.

Though most of families of the NRIs back home are in the dark about what is actually happening there, they know from news reports that something has gone wrong and there is growing concern about the job security of their dear and near ones working in the Gulf.

The Kerala Finance Minister, Dr Thomas Isaac, has said that the crisis may impact the construction sector in the Gulf region, where a chunk of non-resident Keralites (NRKs) are employed. Besides, it will also affect some of the projects in the State such as Vallarpadom container terminal as also the proposed Smart City in which Dubai companies are involved.

According to officials of NORKA-Roots, a State Government enterprise dealing with the welfare of NRKs, nearly 1,500 returnees from the Gulf had registered with the organisation over the last one year.

Higher numbers

But the actual number of returnees will be much higher than that and the officials feel the latest development will accelerate the flow of the returnees.

The sentiment is echoed by some of the NRKs working in the Gulf who do not want to be identified.

They told Business Line that though the construction sector was the most severely hit by the recession leading to heavy loss of employment, the other sectors had also not been spared.

The real picture of the present crisis would become clear only next week when the markets would become active again after a period of holidays, they said.

It is estimated that banks in Kerala record annual NRK remittances of more than Rs. 30,000 crore and those working in the Gulf account for almost 90 per cent of the amount.

More Stories on : Financial Institutions | Kerala

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