Kochi: The Lakshadweep administration has launched an online portal to enable Keralites and others stranded tourists on various islands following the COVID-19 lockdown to return to mainland, and vice versa.
Announcing the facility, Member of Parliament (MP) from Lakshadweep P P Muhammed Faizal said that Keralites in Lakshadweep and islanders in Kerala can register their names on the portal. The link to the portal is available on Lakshadweep administration's website.
Travel to and from Lakshadweep would be allowed only after conducting COVID-19 tests.
Keralites in Lakshadweep should register with NORKA as well and they would be brought to Kerala as per instructions from authorities in the state, said Faizal. The Lakshadweep administration has arranged all facilities for them, he added.
Meanwhile, the MP reassured islanders stranded in Mangaluru and Kozhikode that efforts are being made for their travel to Lakshadweep. "Lack of test facilities in Mangaluru is a problem and to overcome it, we are planning to send a ship to the Karnataka city. Permission has been sought from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for the purpose.
"However, in case this plan does not work out, we will bring the islanders presently in Mangaluru to Kochi for tests before allowing their travel to Lakshadweep," he said.
Regarding the Lakshadweep natives in Kozhikode, Faizal said that the tests are mooted there itself.
