KENDRAPARA: Escalation of the war in Middle East countries following the military strikes by the US and Israel has left family members of workers stranded in the conflict-hit region in a state of fear and anxiety.
Binod Bihari Mishra (71) of Baktapur village in Kendrapara’s Pattamundai town is glued to his TV set, watching news channels and glancing through the pictures of war scenes in Israel and the Gulf countries.
His eldest son Siba Sambhu Mishra (39) works as a plumber in a construction company in Tel Aviv, Israel. “My son talked to his wife on Sunday and told her that the situation in Israel is grave. We are praying for his safety,” said the worried father.
Similarly, Biswabhanu Das (34) of Bodhagaon village under Pattamundai block had gone to Bahrain four years back to work as a plumber. “We are anxious about his well-being as many areas of Bahrain faced missile attacks by Iran on Saturday,” said his father Bijay Das (67).
Talking to TNIE from Bahrain over phone, Biswabhanu said he works in the Bahrain Electromechanical Services Co. WLL ( BEMCO) at Al Muharraq.
“We heard the sound of an explosion due to missile attacks on Saturday night. Our company has advised us to stay indoors. Around 30 Odia workers are engaged in our company. We request the government to evacuate us as soon as possible,” he said.
Basudev Mahalik (67) of Pattamundai is also worried as his son Bhaskar Chandra Mallick (34) works in a construction company in Dubai.
“My mobile phone is the main link with my son. I talked to him on Sunday. He along with many workers is now staying indoors and the situation there is quite grave,” said Basudev.
Immigration consultant of Pattamundai Samar Sahoo informed that around 60 persons from the district are working as plumbers in Israel. Around 5,000 plumbers of the district work in Middle East countries.
District labour officer Ananta Padmanava Mahamansingh said the Ministry of External Affairs deals with Indians who work in other countries. The district labour office has no record of the number of people from Kendrapara who work in foreign countries.
“We only provide the names of stranded workers to the state government after knowing about their plight in other countries,” he added.
