BENGALURU: Five days after it opened registration for those who want to return home, the Karnataka government has approved applications of just 7 per cent of over 56,000 people from the state who are stranded in other states. As of Wednesday evening, 56,622 people applied on the state’s Seva Sindhu portal. The government, which opened registration on May 2, approved 4,068 applications and rejected 479.

“Some applications were rejected since they didn’t have valid address proof,” said a senior officer. According to Rajeev Chawla, who heads the e-governance department, a majority of applications are from people stranded in Maharashtra, followed by Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. They include migrant workers, students, professionals and others. At least 20-30 per cent of the people have requested travel by road.

Although registration and medical examination has been carried out in many of the states of departure, the Karnataka government is yet to issue a no-objection certificate for its residents to return home. 
While 45,326 applications are pending with various Deputy Commissioners, 6,749 applications are with state nodal officers for approval. The governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Telangana have given NOCs to bring their residents back, according to sources.