VISAKHAPATNAM: Having been stranded for more than a month in Riyadh of Saudi Arabia, 24 workers from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha have finally got a ray of hope of returning safe to India.
The families of the workers have already lodged police complaints in their respective areas against the employer Aamal Al Muqawil Contracting Company (AMCO), alleging that they were forced to work in dangerous surroundings without proper food and shelter, in violation of the contract. Further, a good Samaritan from Telangana is now pursuing the case with the Indian Embassy which promised that the workers would return in the next 10 days, a stranded worker told Express over phone.
“With no concrete assurance from the Embassy officials all these days, we approached the local police here for help. Finally, a social activist from Telangana, T Srinivas, who came to Riyadh brought a ray of hope for us,” a stranded worker told Express.
Srinivas, who visits Gulf countries for his official works, has come forward to help the workers in distress. Srinivas has approached the Indian Embassy. “I have interacted with the workers and highlighted their plights before the Embassy officials. I have also submitted the proofs as to how they were being exploited at the project site. The Embassy officials have promised to initiate proceedings in another 10 to 15 days to send the workers back to India,” Srinivas told Express over phone. Since they fled from the company on April 6, the workers have been alleging that they were forced to work with no safety measures, with no proper food and shelter. “It was only after we started working with the company, we realised that the kind of works they (job agents) had promised us during the interviews were completely different,” said the workers.