Congress Leader Jeevan Urges Telangana CM for Gulf Workers Welfare Board
Karimnagar: Senior Congress leader and MLC T.Jeevan Reddy on Tuesday wrote to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, urging him to set up a separate Gulf workers welfare board on the lines of that in Kerala and sanction ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased Gulf worker.
Reddy said around 10 per cent of the unemployed youth from Telangana migrate to Gulf countries in search of jobs and they face a lot of hardships to earn money.
He said that 15 lakh families were dependent on people who work in the Gulf countries. For an average, if they send at least Rs 10,000 to their families per month, it would work out to Rs 18,000 crore of foreign currency per year.
In the past 10 years, Telangana earned around Rs 1.8 lakh crore of foreign currency. If that money is spent on purchasing items and at the rate of 10 per cent of sales tax, Telengana would earn Rs 18,000 crore, Jeevan Reddy said.
The previous BRS government did not spend even a single rupee on the welfare of Gulf workers, Jeevan Reddy said. Many people working in Gulf countries undergo depression, suffer from illness and various health complications.
It would be better if the Congress government sanctions ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the bereaved families, Jeevan Reddy said in his letter to the Chief Minister.