Bengaluru: Hope fades, Saudi workers return

Mangaluru: Makbul Abdul Karim of Kumta was visibly the happiest person on Earth when he reached Gokarna Road Railway Station on Sunday. Makbul of Kumta, Imran of Sirsi and Rizwan of Karwar arrived in India with many other Indians from Saudi Arabia with the help of the Indian government.

They were among the many Indians working in Saudi Arabia who were not paid salary by their employers and did not have money and exit visa to return to India. For about a week they had to suffer without proper food. Makbul was working as a computer operator at  Saudi Oger Ltd company in Saudi for nine years.

“The Operation and Maintenance Company which was also into construction was a good organisation to work with. Everything was fine till January when the company stopped paying the salary. They assured us  salary in a week or fifteen days but we did not get the money till July,” Makbul narrated his story to Deccan Chronicle.

“Months passed but we did not get our salary. My condition was pathetic. I neither had money to return to India nor had the exit visa. Amidst this, the canteen providing us food too stopped supply as the company had stopped  payment to it in July. Our condition was terrible as we could not go out to bring food as our resident permit had expired! Thus we had to suffer without proper food for a week. We had to ration food and manage with the food brought by some of those who had the resident permit and money,” he recollects.

To add to this, Makbul had a problem even in contacting his family as he did not have a SIM card. He had to depend on mobiles of his friends or app based calling service. Finally with the help of an NGO, the labourers of the company contacted the Indian embassy which provided food and medical facility.