By IANS
Dubai : The outbreak of Chickungunya, a viral illness caused by mosquitoes, in Kerala has led a large number of Keralites in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to cancel their travel plans home.
Keralities, who form one of the largest expatriate communities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), had planned their summer trips home as early as January. But now many families have cancelled their plans, Gulf News reported.
“I am from Thiruvananthapuram and was looking forward to travel home with my family but after seeing the number of people falling ill, I decided to cancel my travel plans,” said Dubai resident Unnikrishnan Pillai.
“Apart from visiting their grandparents, my daughters love to splash in the rain, but this time it might prove dangerous. This illness occurs mostly in the rainy season,” he said.
Narayani Menon, a Abu Dhabi resident, has also cancelled her travel plans to Kerala and is heading to Jordan with her husband and two teenaged sons.
“We would have travelled to some other Indian state instead but we will not be able to experience the coconut palm trees, the coffee and rubber plantations and above all the food made by my 80 year-old mother,” she said.
Mohammad Koya, a Dubai resident from Kozhikode, said: “I have postponed my vacation to December. I cannot take the risk.”