Coronavirus: Funerals of two women in India must wait as husbands in UAE can’t fly
Dubai: The bodies of two Indian women back home will be cremated only after their UAE-based husbands can get on a repatriation flight.
Indian truck driver Prasanthan Prabhakaran Nair in Dubai is in a state of shock after learning that his wife died on Thursday morning, May 14. His wife Mini developed pneumonia last week and died of complications on Thursday in Tiruvanthapuram of Kerala.
Hashik T.A, a lawyer who doubles up as a social worker in the UAE, said Mini’s condition began to deteriorate after she contracted pneumonia. She was on the ventilator for the past four days. He said he was trying to put Nair on the first available flight home since Mini’s condition began to deteriorate, but to no avail. Finally, he was able to secure a confirmed seat for him to fly on May 16.
Another Indian worker Vijaya Kumar Kunchan Kunchan, 50, works as a site supervisor for a construction company in the UAE. His wife died on May 9, but he will be able to fly to Kochi only on May 16 to bid farewell to her.
The families of both Nair and Kunchan are waiting for them to land in India to perform the last rites of their wives.
“I have not been able to think straight since the time my wife passed away last Saturday. Every day, I am waiting to hear news on when I can travel. It is a horrible situation,” said Kunchan.
“I come from Pallakad and I will have to travel another 150 kilometers from Kochi to reach my hometown. But I am ready. I just want to reach home,” said the tearful husband.
Hashik said there is an urgent need to add more flights especially to carry people with emergencies like these.