Hyderabad: The Telangana government bore the cost of repatriating the body of Golla Abbulu, a 40-year-old migrant worker from Nizamabad district, who died in Oman on December 14, 2025, after migrating to the country for work.
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 the 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. They requested Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to provide financial assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) to bring her husband’s body home.
Earlier, on December 29, she had also emailed a representation to the Chief Minister’s Office (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 utilise this insurance to cover the cost of repatriating the mortal remains, as mandated.
As per the 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 [MEA]), the MEA 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 was sanctioned from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and released to Savithri to repatriate the mortal remains of her husband from Oman to India.
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