Hyderabad: The mortal remains of a Telangana expatriate, who died in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), were handed over to his family nearly 16 hours after arrival at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, which resulted in the family ungoing distress and postponing funeral arrangements.
Narender Narsaiah Shriram, a native of Kondrikarla village in Metpalli mandal of Jagtial district, died of cardiac arrest in Sharjah on February 16, according to the death certificate issued by the Consulate General of India in Dubai, as seen by Siasat.com.
His body was brought to Hyderabad on an Air Arabia flight from Sharjah, which landed at the Shamshabad airport at 3.20 am on Sunday, February 22. Family members alleged they were not informed in advance about the arrival, leading to confusion and delays in completing cargo formalities.
A relative of the deceased, Odapalli Damodar, said he received a call from the airline’s cargo section asking him to collect the mortal remains. He then travelled to Hyderabad and completed the procedures. The remains were handed over at around 10 pm on Sunday.
The family said that, under normal procedures, mortal remains are usually cleared and released within a few hours of arrival. They alleged that a lack of coordination between the employer and airline staff caused the delay and the subsequent rescheduling of funeral rites.
NRI Advisory Committee vice-chairman Manda Bheem Reddy intervened and coordinated airline officials to expedite the process. An ambulance was also arranged to transport the remains to the native village.
