Bhubaneswar: Twelve labourers from Odisha, who were stranded in Dubai returned today after BJP national Vice-President Baijayant Jay Panda intervened in the matter and sought diplomatic help in their repatriation.
Jay Panda took to Twitter to inform about their repatriation and thanked the district representative of Naba Nirman Krushak Sanghathan of Ganjam for bringing the plight of the stranded labourers to notice. Moreover, Panda also thanked Odia Samaj based in Dubai for extending their support in repatriation of the labourers.
Earlier, on July 27, six of the 18 migrant labourers stranded in Dubai had returned to Odisha after Jay Panda had sought intervention of the Indian Consul General in Dubai for their repatriation.
After the return of the labourers identified as Kalia Jena, Pabitra Mallick, Tuna Mallick, Dibakar Nahaka, Raju Gauda and Santanu Palai; their family members had thanked Jay Panda.
As per reports, on November 4, 2018, the labourers hailing from Tihania, Ujjwalapur, Padinapalli, Baniaru, Ostapada, Kairasi, Manikapur in Ganjam district had left for Dubai through an agent Kartik Jena, who took Rs 60,000 from each of them and had assured them jobs with Rs 35,000 per month salary.
But even after nine months, the labourers were not paid by their employer. Dejected, the labourers decided to protest and refused to work following which the company suspended all of them. The workers then uploaded a video on social media requesting help for their repatriation.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had also sought External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s help for the early repatriation of the said Odia workers.