They appeared thoroughly exhausted after a long flight from Dubai to Mumbai and from there to Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
Eighteen men, who were employed in the Gulf, were happy to return to India after a four-month ordeal of having to go without salary.
All of them hailed from Itchapuram in Srikakulam district and were eager to meet their families. But the Air India flight from Mumbai to Visakhapatnam via Raipur, which was delayed by more than two hours, tested their patience. The flight, which was scheduled to arrive at the Visakhapatnam International Airport at 1.35 p.m., touched down at around 4 p.m. “I have been working in Oman’s Sohar area for the past two years. I have not been paid salary for the last three months. Our management did not tell us the reason, but we suspect that it is due to corruption at the top level that resulted in losses to the company,” said M. Ashok Kumar, who was employed as a store keeper in Petron LLC.
Sharing a similar experience, Duvvu Ganesh Reddy said: “I have been working for nearly two-and-a-half years as a construction worker. Our management has not paid my salary for the last four months. We had to go without food for a few days till officials of the Indian Embassy and Oman intervened.”
“I have been with Petronet in Sohar since seven years. I used to draw 180 Riyals (around ₹32,000) a month, besides leave once in two years. I have not been paid the salary for the past four months,” said Paila Gurunadha Reddy.
Chiranjeevi fans’ gesture
“Members of the Chiranjeevi Fans Association of Muscat gave ₹1,000 to each of the Telugu persons stranded in the Gulf,” he said. “The Central and State governments have coordinated in getting the workers back to India. Two more workers could not be accommodated on the flight and they would be brought here tomorrow,” BJYM leader Adari Kishore Kumar told the media.