100 Punjabi workers stranded in Abu Dhabi without passports
Darpan News Desk IANS, 26 Oct, 2022 10:34 AM
Chandigarh, Oct 26 (IANS) At least 100 Punjabi immigrant workers have been stranded in Abu Dhabi without passports, and were seeking help from the Indian government for their safety and early evacuation, according to the media reports.
Their family and well-wishers in Punjab say they were employed by a private company. They were sacked from their jobs, but their passports were not returned and were unable to return to India.
Social activist Dilbagh Singh has written to Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, seeking their early extradition.
As per the media, Jaishankar has directed the Indian consulate in Dubai to extend help to the workers stranded in the UAE, and asked the officials to make arrangements to get them back to India.
Taking umbrage at the Union Minister's new plan on how the future of Chandigarh would be decided, Badal said: "It is not in the ambit of Shekhawat to take a decision on this matter. This is a closed chapter. The UT status of Chandigarh is purely temporary pending transfer to Punjab."
Mann said in another significant decision, the state government has now decided to appoint Chief Minister Field Officers as Nodal Officers for NRIs to ensure redressal of their grievances. He said that these officers will prove to be an ideal Nodal Officer for NRIs as they will be effectively able to coordinate across departments and districts, besides having a direct communication with the Chief Minister's Office.
The passengers were later identified as Moshin Khan Saifi and Asim. Saifi was supposed to travel from Delhi to Hyderabad by Vistara Flight, whereas Asim was supposed to travel from Delhi to Dubai by Air India Express flight.
The official said that at about 4 pm, CISF staff at Terminal-3 noticed suspicious activities of a passenger in the check-in area. The passenger was later identified as Misam Raza, who was about to fly to Dubai on a SpiceJet flight. Raza was then diverted to the random checking point for a thorough checking of his luggage.
The arrested accused have been identified as Vikas Bhadana, Paras Sood, Thachang Tungshanao, Avinash, Ram Basua and Abhislash Singh, the call centre manager. While the call centre and house owner has been identified as Sachin Taneja.
A SAD delegation led by its president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and handed over a memorandum stating that the Chief Minister and the Excise Minister have violated the provisions of the Official Secrets Act by making official files of the state available to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and MP Raghav Chadha, besides private persons.
