1,800 Gulf workers died in 9 years, says Hyderabad NGO; government’s lack of support highlighted

Hyderabad: Every year, with dinars and dirhams dreams in their eyes, thousands of Indians move to the petroleum-rich Gulf countries for employment. From Telangana alone, there are around 15 lakh Gulf workers. But behind the silver lining of earning in Gulf currencies, dark clouds lurk where the workers encounter various problems.

According to the NGO Emigrants Welfare Forum, as many as 1,800 Gulf workers have died in the last nine years i.e. around 200 deaths per year.

Around 8.8 million Indians live and work in Gulf countries

According to the EWF, there are around 8.8 million or 88 lakh Indians from various states living and working in the Gulf countries. Around 10 per cent of them live with their families.

Countries bordering the Persian Gulf such as Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Iran, Yemen etc. are referred to as Gulf Nations. Among the job-seeking Indian community, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar are the most popular. Indians are employed in high-end sectors such as the IT-engineering service sector, and the petroleum industry and also as unskilled labourers, such as drivers, housekeeping staff etc.

The government of India is earning the highest amount of forex (US$ 89 billion annually) from the workers employed in these countries but when it comes to welfare measures and safeguarding the workers, the state and central government shrug their responsibilities.

Congress demands state support for Gulf workers

Bringing up the issue of Gulf workers, recently, leaders of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) demanded that the state government support the Gulf workers from India, similar to what the Kerala government does for its citizens working in these countries.

Vinod Kumar, TPCC NRI cell chairman and Chand Pasha, convener of the TPCC NRI Cell pointed out that there are 15 lakh Gulf workers from Telangana. “Though they benefit India in terms of huge amounts of forex, the government does not support the workers,” they said.

Listing the facilities that the state government should provide, Chand Pasha said, “There should be a help desk for Gulf workers at the district level. A welfare board for Gulf workers should be established and facilities should be available for Gulf workers to exercise their voting rights. Many of those aspiring to go to the Gulf countries are also financially cheated by agents. All these issues should be looked into by the government,” said.

‘Ex-gratia not paid’

“Till now, the government has not implemented any guarantees given to our Gulf workers. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said that he would give Rs 5 lakhs to each of the families who lost their lives in the Gulf. A life insurance of Rs 5 lakhs was announced for Gulf workers but was not fulfilled. Many workers are languishing in jails in the Gulf countries. The central and state governments should provide them legal support for their release and return to India,” said Vinod Kumar.

‘Welfare board must be set up for Gulf workers’

Speaking to NewsMeter, EWF president M Bheem Reddy said, “Unlike Andhra Pradesh, which has formed an AP Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) in 2014 which continues to function to date, the TRS government doesn’t have any helpline, a welfare board, or even coordinators/volunteers for the Gulf workers and their families here. In the past nine years, around 1,800 Gulf workers died, which is 200 deaths per year. This number can be found in the Shamshabad police station where they issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to transfer dead bodies. The promised ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakhs to their families has not been given.”

“Despite making promises since 2014 that Rs 500 crore budget allocation will be made for a welfare board for Gulf workers, it has not been set up by the state government. Even the Telangana NRI policy towards life insurance and investments has not been formed. This was mentioned by industries minister KT Rama Rao in 2016,” he added.

The EWF president also said that the Central government scheme of Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY), which covers an insurance amount of Rs 10 lakhs in case of accidental deaths, needs to be extended for natural deaths of workers.

‘Safeguard workers from fake agents’

Speaking about the ground-level changes, Bheem Reddy said, “The Indian government should coordinate with destination countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to set up consulates in Hyderabad. The state should also have consultancies and help desks for Gulf aspirants. India has around 2,000 registered recruiting agents to whom licenses are issued by the Ministry of External Affairs. Even then workers are duped by fake agents many times. Instead of bypassing responsibilities, the state and the Central governments should curb the menace of fake agents.”