Mangaluru: To facilitate NRIs travelling abroad, the Dakshina Kannada district administration is currently making arrangements to start a rapid PCR test facility at Mangaluru International Airport.

It can be recalled that UAE government imposed the restrictions on various conditions which included possession of UAE residency Visa, two doses of vaccination, and negative report of RT-PCR test (within 48 hours before travel). However, RT-PCR test facility was unavailable in Mangaluru Airport despite relaxation of travel to UAE, the flight services were not resumed to UAE from Mangaluru.

It was then that Hidayat Adoor, Kannadiga Federation Convernor, brought this to the notice of Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Rajendra K.V. and consequently DC had assured to do so. As per the assurance, the facility has been put in place at the airport soon, flights for UAE are set to resume. KNRI UAE President Praveen Shetty, Sharjah Karnataka Sangha President M.E. Muloor, BWF President Mohammed Ali Uchil, Namma Nada Okkoota President Mohammed Salim and Kannada Mithraru UAE President Sshashidhar Nagarajappa among others have expressed their gratitude to the DC.

Till now NRIs from the City and around used to travel to UAE via Bengaluru, Mumbai or other airports to meet UAE’s requirements. Now, with the introduction of RT-PCR test facility, they can directly travel to UAE from here.