Hyderabad: Golla Abbulu, a 40-year-old migrant worker from Telangana’s Nizamabad district had gone to Oman for work and died on December 14.
Abbulu was employed at a cleaning company in Oman’s Salalah region, but he quit the job due to some differences with the management. According to Omani laws, employees who quit their jobs without permission are treated as ‘Irregular residents’, resulting in the cancellation of several rights and entitlements.
“Citing this, the company management clearly stated that they had no responsibility towards Abbulu and refused to bear the cost of transporting his mortal remains,” said a press release from the Telangana NRI Advisory Committee.
While such cases of migrant workers are generally supported through the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF), an official from the Indian Embassy in Muscat informed the family over phone that there were no funds available and that Rs 1.50 lakh would have to be paid by the family for repatriation.
The official further stated that if the amount could not be paid, the last rites would have to be performed in Oman.
Wife approaches Telangana government
As the situation turned grim, Abbulu’s wife, Togari Chinna Savithri along with her son, Sanjay and Yamcha village Sarpanch Begari Sailu, submitted a representation on January 13 at the ‘CM Pravasi Prajavani’ in Hyderabad. It was addressed to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, requesting financial assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) to bring her husband’s body back home.
Earlier, on December 29, she had also emailed a representation to the CMO, following which the GAD NRI Division sent a wire message to the Indian Embassy.
Abbullu paid Rs 1.20 lakh to a sub-agent, from Chinnapur to travel to Oman, while his emigration clearance was processed through a registered recruiting agency in Guwahati, Assam. A Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY) accident insurance policy worth Rs 10 lakh had also been issued. Questions have been raised as to why the Indian Embassy in Muscat did not utilize this insurance to cover the cost of repatriating the mortal remains, as mandated.
As per law, the responsibility of transporting the body lies with the recruiting agency. Even after the issue was registered on the MADAD Portal (Consular Services Management System, Operated by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India) the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi reportedly did not take effective action.
After being informed regarding Savitri’s situation, in-charge of CM Prajavani and Vice-Chairman of the State Planning Commission, Dr G Chinna Reddy, directed the CM’s Principal Secretary V. Sheshadri to take immediate action.
Nodal Officer of CM Prajavani, Divya Devarajan, responded promptly after understanding the seriousness of the situation. As a result, Rs 1.5 lakh lakh was sanctioned from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and released by cheque to Savithri, to repartriate the mortal remains from Oman to India.
President of the Telangana Chapter of the Indian Social Club, Gundeti Ganesh recognised by the Indian Embassy in Oman, assisted the process.
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