The Telangana government has been arranging special flights to bring stranded Telugu people in other countries back to Hyderabad, but these flights are only for those who can afford paying their flight expenses and quarantine charges in Hyderabad.
The Congress party in Telangana sought to know about the fate of lakhs of migrant workers who got stranded in the Gulf countries and are languishing without any wages and proper food.
Senior Congress leader and former minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir demanded that the State Government arrange special flights to bring back nearly 3.7 lakh migrant workers of Telangana stranded in Gulf countries.
Shabbir said the migrant workers from Telangana have been facing severe hardship due to lockdown in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq. Hundreds of them, especially those living in Kuwait, are reportedly suffering from Coronavirus and need immediate attention and treatment.
“They have no source of livelihood, nothing to eat and no place to live. They are desperately waiting for help from Government of India and Telangana Government,” he said.
The Congress leader said it was highly unfortunate that the BJP Government at the Centre was only bringing back rich NRIs who can afford the cost of air travel and 14-day stay in quarantine.
"This is open discrimination. The policy of rescuing only the rich and leave the poor to their fate is highly regrettable. The Government of India should help everyone irrespective of their present financial status. In the current crisis, poor people need more attention and help. We should not forget that these workers have earned billions of foreign exchange for the country since the last so many years. Just because they lost their jobs now and don't have money even to return to their homes, they cannot be ignored," he said.
