Indian organisation to charter flights for Kerala voters

A Dubai-based Indian organisation plans to charter flights for Kerala voters who wish to vote in the next month's Lok Sabha elections.

The Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), which has 50,300 members in the UAE 20,500 of whom are in Dubai would be flying Keralities, eligible to vote, on April 7.

"It is a one-way ticket on discounted rates to Kozhikode district. We are in talks with a private company as well as Air India and Air India Express to charter the flights. The facility is exclusively for Keralites," Ebrahim Elettil, general secretary of the KMCC, told Gulf News.

He said the facility is available not for KMCC members only but also for non-members, provided they are from Kerala. The organisation was founded by expatriates from Kerala with the aim of extending humanitarian and legal assistance to those in need.

The number of chartered flights operating will depend on the number of people who come forward to register for the facility, he said. "The private company is charging Rs 8,319 per person for 165 people, while the other two airlines from India are charging Rs 12,477 per person to fly 180 people and Rs 9,981 to fly 180 people respectively," Elettil said.

Elettil, however, said the KMCC will not have any influence on voters who use the charter flight services. "An individual is free to vote for whoever they wish. Our only aim is to make sure that Keralites living in Dubai get an opportunity to exercise their voting rights," he said.