Five days after the war has broken out in Iraq, nearly 3,000 Malayalees have returned from the Gulf especially Kuwait, even as a 'war crisis management cell' in the Thiruvananthapuram is getting a steadily increasing number of 'help calls'.

According to Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Minister M M Hassan, the conflict in the Gulf is not a cause for panic for the time being.

"But we are fully prepared to evacuate and look after our people working in Kuwait, because Kerala is the only state which is directly getting affected by any conflict in the Gulf region," Hassan told rediff.com.

As soon the war broke out last week, the Kerala government quickly set up the 'war crisis management cells' in Thiruvananthapuram and New Delhi. Hassan said that the cells are getting nearly 1,000 calls from the Gulf Malayalees daily.

The Thiruvananthapuram numbers are:
0471-2518182, 2518129, 2327192
Fax:0471-2327192

The New Delhi numbers are:
011-23343304, 23368968
Fax: 011-23368934, 23366527.

Air India and Kuwait Airways reported that there is no rush in their flights and most of their flights are returning half-empty to the three Kerala airports.

Hassan said, "Things might turn bad and people will get really worried and frightened if the war prolongs in the region."

He said the Kerala government has put in place emergency plans to evacuate the thousands of Malayalees across the Gulf countries if the need arises.

A three member-member ministerial team led by Hassan met with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee last week demanding urgent measures for the safety of Malayalees in the Gulf.

Government estimates say nearly half of some 4 million Indians working in Gulf countries are from Kerala.

Their remittances of millions of dollars have powered the Kerala economy in the past three decades. Lakhs of families in Kerala depend on the remittances that the relatives send from various Gulf countries.

The present Iraq war has gripped Kerala families with fears of social insecurity and economic deprivation as many worry that a long-drawn out war in the Gulf might lead to the loss of jobs and property of Keralites working in the region.