New Delhi: Government on Wednesday admitted that
there were problems in getting back bodies of Indians employed
in the Gulf countries who expired during their stay, but
assured the Lok Sabha that all efforts are being made to deal
with the issue.
"There are problems in getting back the bodies. But these
countries have certain rules. Especially in Saudi Arabia, the
body is handed over only after a Final Report is filed. But in
other Gulf countries, it takes about a week," Minister of
Overseas Indian Affairs Vyalar Ravi said in Lok Sabha.
He was responding to complaints of some members during
Question Hour that bringing back bodies of Indians working in
the Gulf countries was a tedious process and involved a lot of
red tape.
A sizable number of Indians - both skilled and unskilled
labour - go to Gulf countries for employment. Remittances from
these countries accounted for 27 per cent of the total in the
first half of 2009-10.
Ravi said the problem was aggravated in case of those
Indians who were living in these countries illegally.
Nama Nageshwar Rao (TDP) said this problem was also faced
by Indians living in Australia and in some cases money had to
be paid to get the bodies released.
He also flagged the issue of bad working conditions for
Indians and how this was driving some of them to commit
suicide.
Ravi insisted that the government was engaged in creating
awareness among Indians about the significance of getting
proper visas and permits before going abroad to work.
"The Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Yojana (PBBY) is a compulsory
Insurance Scheme for protection of emigrant workers," Ravi
said. PTI
