Telangana man who accidentally crossed UAE border 5 years ago, returns home.

Hyderabad: A young man from Telangana who had illegally crossed the Oman border and reached Dubai five years ago finally reached Hyderabad on 27 August.

Jangili Peddulu of Nagunoor village under Sarangapoor mandal in Jagtial district finally reached Hyderabad via Mumbai from Dubai on Thursday. “I crossed the border five years ago after hearing rumours that there would be better job opportunities in Dubai. But it was a wrong move and no one should do it,” he said.

Jytha Narayana, a social worker in Dubai, helped Jangili Peddulu obtain a temporary passport (emergency certificate) from the Indian Consulate in Dubai and permission from the Dubai Immigration Department to leave the country. Bheem Reddy Mandha, an expatriate labour leader from India, sent documents proving Jangili Peddulu’s Indian nationality.

Hundreds of migrant workers from Telangana are stranded in Dubai and Sharjah in UAE after illegally crossing the borders from Oman.

Earlier, a wife of a migrant labourer from Telangana who is also from Jagtial had sought the district collector’s help in bringing her husband home from Dubai. She had requested him to coordinate with the Indian Consulate in Dubai and the ministry of external affairs to help issue an emergency certificate.

Mulkala Sathyam, a resident of Nakkalapet village under the Dharmapuri mandal in Jagtial district, went to Muscat in July 2016. He was working for Al-Turki as a construction worker. In August of the same year, he was transferred to Dubai.

Now he is unable to return home because his company has taken his passport. To verify his citizenship, the consulate needs clearance from the Indian ministry of external affairs which can be done only through the local authorities. “The contractor forced him to cross the border illegally. He has been living and working in Dubai for the past four years as an irregular immigrant worker,” said Mulkala Jyothi, Sathyam’s wife.

Those who want to return home using the Amnesty scheme recently announced by the UAE government in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak can contact the Pravasi Mithra Labour Union’s Dubai helpline +97155 7834744 or WhatsApp +91 94916 13129, Mr. Reddy said.