Gulf migrants demand Rs 500 crore in state Budget

HYDERABAD: Gulf migrants’ associations on Sunday called on the Telangana government to fulfil its election promise by allocating Rs 500 crore for workers’ welfare.

A meeting of Gulf migrant workers, under the banner of the Migrants Rights and Welfare Forum (MRWF), was also held on Sunday.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle from Dubai, MRWF founder-president Kotapati Narasimha Naidu said that Gulf workers had played a key role in the agitation for a separate Telangana state.

“Migrant workers are hoping that an NRI policy will be declared and Rs 500 crore will be allocated for the welfare of migrants and their families,” he said.

Of the nine budgets presented by the BRS government so far, Rs 100 crore was allocated in the 2018 Budget.

The migrant worker leader demanded that the state government set up a Pravasi Bharat welfare board and allocate Rs 500 crore.

Members of the Gulf Telangana Association, the Gulf Telangana Welfare Association and the Indian People Forum took part in the meeting.