E-Paper
PM urged to help repatriate undocumented Indians in Saudi
A memorandum handed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for immediate action to repatriate undocumented Indians living at a location in Jeddah city of Saudi Arabia.
A memorandum handed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for immediate action to repatriate undocumented Indians living at a location in Jeddah city of Saudi Arabia.
The memorandum by Hamza Abbas, chief editor of Gulf Madhyamam, requested the government to take immediate action to repatriate poor Indians under the Kandara Bridge in Jeddah to avoid possible deaths and the spread of chronic diseases among them.
"They are living in terrible conditions in harsh weather without food or shelter," Abbas was quoted by Arab News as saying.
The memorandum also called for action to solve the problems of poor Indian workers in the Kingdom; the issuing of travel documents to people who cannot travel as their passports have been confiscated by sponsors; giving voting rights to NRIs; implementing the NRI Insurance Program; and initiating an investment program for NRIs.
The memorandum calls on the Indian government to make necessary amendments in the banking law to introduce interest-free banking in India, something, according to Abbas, would strengthen the country’s economy.
State Bank of India’s branches in Saudi Arabia should also be given permission to open Islamic banking windows like other conventional banks, he added.
