Chaos out there says US national who does not want to leave Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, July 11: US citizen Johnny Paul Pierce fell in love with God's Own Country, Kerala, after staying over here for the past five months and now does not want to leave the southwestern state of India.

The 74-year old US citizen even wants to spend the rest of his life in the state and Pierce is really serious about this as he approached the Kerala High Court to convert his tourist visa into a business visa.

On asking the reason behind of his wish to stay in Kerala Pierce says to ANI, "There's chaos in US due to COVID-19 and govt is not taking care like Indian govt. I want to stay here."

"I am making a petition to allow me to stay for another 180 days in Kerala and get a business visa to start a travel company here. I wish my family could also come here. I am very impressed with what is happening here. People in the US do not care about COVID-19."

He approached the Kerala High Court through advocate Saju S Nair.

The Indian government permits foreigners on tourist visas to continuously sta in India for only 180 days and as Pierce's 180 days will expire on August 24 he aspires to convert his tourism visa into a business one. So he has approached the Kerala High Court for the same.

Johnny also plans to set establish a centre for foreigners to explore Kerala's tourism potential and he wants to recruit American residents who can afford to stay for long terms in Kerala.

Pierce stressed that he is absolutely safe in Kerala as the entire state only reported 25 deaths.

According to Pierce, Kerala's Wagamon is a perfect place as it's not too crowded and it's a quiet secluded place.

The American citizen wants to produce a film with his Indian scripwriter friend.