The decision was taken after a delegation from Karnataka headed by Coastaldigest.com chairman Mohamed Asif, Udupi-Chikmagalur MP K Jayaprakash Hegde and Mangalore MLA U T Khader visited Indian Embassy in Riyadh and held a detailed discussion with Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hamid Ali Rao about the various problems faced by the expatriate workers due to massive Saudization drive.
Even though Riyadh Governor Prince Khaled bin Bandar extended the Nitaqat deadline for businesses by two months in his province, crack down on illegal works has reportedly continued in other parts of Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Coastaldigest.com also visited Dammam province, where Saudi labour ministry officials conducted several raids to detect illegal workers.
As per the statistics obtained from Saudi authorities, as many as 406 Indian expatriates including Kannadigas have been arrested in Dammam area alone and sent to Dammam Deportation Center in recent days. Out of them, 31 expatriate workers have already deported to India.
Speaking to media persons in Riyadh, Coastaldigest.com chairman Mohammad Asif said that even though Kerala government has decided to set up help desks in four district collectorates to assist the Keralites seeking the Indian Embassy's 'exit pass' for safe departure from Saudi Arabia due to the implementation of 'Nitaqat', expatriate workers from Karnataka have been deprived of such facilities.
“In this scenario, we decided to set up helpline exclusively for expatriate workers from Karnataka in Saudi Arabia. Our team is ready to offer all kind of support to expatriate workers from Karnataka, who are affected following the strict implementation of Saudization programme” said Mr Asif.
Mr Asif also requested the Deputy Commissioners of Karnataka to immediately respond if they receive any communiqué from the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia seeking validate details of expatriate workers hailing from South Indian state seeking 'exit pass' for safe departure from the Kingdom.
He said that any expatriate worker of Karnataka origin in the Kingdom is in need of any kind of support can send email to [email protected] or contact Coastaldigest.com office in the industrial city of Jubail. Jayaprakash Hegde and U T Khader also have promised to extend all possible support to the expatriates, he added.
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