TPCC demands welfare for Gulf workers in upcoming state budget

On Saturday, he spoke at a press conference at the Congress Party office in Hyderabad. He said that BRS did not fulfil the promises made for the welfare of Gulf workers in its 2014 election.

Singireddy Naresh Reddy said that 1700 Telangana migrant workers died in Gulf countries in the last eight and a half years, and the register of coffins at Shamshabad Airport Police Station is proof of this.

He asked the government to pay Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to the families of the dead, as promised by KCR. As part of a comprehensive NRI policy, he also asked to create special programmes to help Gulf workers get back on their feet and get back into society and a welfare board for Gulf workers.

"Currently, 15 lakh Telangana migrant workers in the Gulf are sending home 1,500 crores of foreign exchange every month at around Rs 10,000 per head," TPCC NRI Cell Chairman Ambassador Dr BM Vinod Kumar said.

"As per the calculation, 1 lakh 53 thousand crore rupees have reached Telangana in the last eight and a half years at the rate of 18 thousand crore rupees per year, which contributed to strengthening the Telangana economy," he added.

Vinod Kumar stated that the government earned at least 10% of local taxes from Gulf NRIs, reaching around 15,300 crore rupees over the last eight and a half years. Moreover, NRIs contribute to strengthening the foreign exchange of a country.

Gopidi Dhanunjay Reddy, Secretary of Jagtial District Congress, said that the central and state governments had neglected the welfare of the migrant workers, who send their hard-earned money to their home country after labouring for years under the desert sun.