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An Indian tourist, who was repatriated from Dubai to India after falling critically ill, died in Delhi at 1.10am (IST) on Tuesday (April 2). Sixty-six-year-old Surendra Nath Khanna passed away after fighting for his life for over two weeks in Dubai.
Khanna, who was on a visit to Dubai to be with his son Anubhav, had not availed of travel insurance, due to which his hospital bills in the emirate shot up to over Dh100,000 in one week. Anubhav said he and his brother quickly lost their life savings as they were shelling out Dh20,000 every day for his father's confinement in Dubai.
When Khaleej Times reported the plight of the family, several members of the Indian community came together to clear the Khannas' hospital bills and fund the repatriation. A week ago, Surendra was airlifted to India and admitted to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram, Delhi NCR, where he died on Tuesday.
Surendra battled a severe lung infection that had spread to other organs of his body, leading to a multi-organ failure. He also developed gangrene in his left hand which had to be amputated.
Consul-General of India to Dubai Vipul offered his condolences to the family, and said: "We are very sad about the unfortunate passing of Surendra Nath Khanna. In my absence, the consulate had done some admirable work in repatriating him to India.
"We had help from the Indian community and NMC Hospital as well. We feel unfortunate that he is no longer with us."
Praveen Kumar, the volunteer social worker at the consulate who saw how hard the community has worked to help the family, said:
"It was a very tragic loss. The Indian consulate and the entire Indian community had worked together to repatriate Mr Khanna to India."
Another friend of the family told Khaleej Times: "He tried hard to fight, but unfortunately, he failed. The family is in mourning."
'Avail medical insurance before travelling'
Consul-General of India to Dubai Vipul urged all Indian tourists to avail of medical insurance before travelling to the UAE.
Vipul said this insurance would ensure that should anything happen to a visitor, medical costs wouldn't be too much of a worry.
"In the last two months, we have seen several cases where people have come to Dubai on visit visas and needed medical attention. The consulate had also issued an advisory on the matter. With aid from the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF), we will try our best to help patients in every way we can. However, with the help of medical insurance, all unforeseen expenditure can be covered."
Social worker Praveen Kumar said: "We need increased awareness among Indian visitors to take medical insurance before arriving in the UAE. It is imperative that they take medical insurance, especially the elderly, before travelling."
According to the previous reports of Khaleej Times, in the case of the Khanna family, the NMC Hospital management had waived a large part of the medical bill on humanitarian grounds. Senior Indian community members like Vasu Shroff, Siddhartha Balachandran, Dr Ram Buxani, Dinesh Kothari and others came forward to support the family.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
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