Over 300 Bangladeshis are to be repatriated from Maldives this week.
RaajjeMV understands that 374 Bangladeshi nationals will leave the country via a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, which is set for May 15 (Friday).
When inquired on the matter, a government official said that the Labour Relations Authority and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been working to send a number of Bangladeshi nationals’ home.
Over 50 percent of the confirmed Covid-19 cases in the Maldives are Bangladeshi nationals.
Most of them are forced to live in congested living spaces, especially in capital Malé.
Authorities began a community survey targeting Covid-19 vulnerable migrants in April, and work is underway to move migrants in such congested areas. While some have already been moved to accommodation blocks, work is underway to reclaim a 30-hectare land in Gulhifalhu to develop accommodation facilities for expatriate workers.
Addressing the public earlier this month, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih stated authorities were working to send about 1,500 undocumented workers from Bangladesh. He added that it will be done after discussions with the government of Bangladesh.
The president also said that there are a number of homeless migrants without valid documents as well as means of an income and stressed that “they were brought here by Maldivians”.