Saudi: Unpaid for five months, 850 expats go on strike

September 29, 2013

Jeddah, Sep 29: About 850 expatriate workers have been on strike in Yanbu for a week over the nonpayment of salaries by their employer, a Turkish construction company.

A total of 700 workers are from India and Pakistan, with 150 hailing from Bangladesh, Nepal and Turkey. They claim they have not been paid for five months.

The Turkish company won contracts for housing projects from the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and has operated in the region for three years. The workers claim the company has not heeded their pleas for payment.

Many workers told Arab News that their families back home are suffering and had to borrow money for Ramadan and Eid. “We are now in the same situation for the upcoming Eid Al-Adha. We don't have money to even recharge our prepaid SIM cards to make calls,” said one worker.

The workers said they also face several problems at their accommodation in Yanbu, including having their water supply cut off because they could not pay their bills.

They have lodged complaints with the Ministry of Labor and the governor's office. The authorities have called the workers, contractor and client to a meeting next week to resolve the issue, said the workers.

They said the company claims it cannot pay them because it has not received money from its client. However, the client has not paid because it claims the housing projects are behind schedule.

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Think Before You Post! Mangaluru Police Crack Down on Provocative Instagram Accounts

News Network

December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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Mangaluru’s ₹1,200 crore fix: Massive sewage overhaul to end city’s drainage woes

News Network

December 19,2025

Mangaluru: In a decisive move to tackle the city’s deteriorating sanitation infrastructure, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has announced a massive ₹1,200 crore action plan to overhaul its underground drainage (UGD) network.

The initiative, spearheaded by Deputy Commissioner and MCC Administrator Darshan HV, aims to bridge "missing links" in the current system that have left residents grappling with overflowing sewage and environmental hazards.

The Breaking Point

The announcement follows a high-intensity phone-in session on Thursday, where the DC was flooded with grievances from frustrated citizens. Residents, including Savithri from Yekkur, described a harrowing reality: raw sewage from apartments leaking into stormwater drains, creating a "permanent stink" and turning residential zones into mosquito breeding grounds.

"We are facing immense difficulties due to the stench and the health risks. Local officials have remained silent until now," one resident reported during the session.

The Strategy: A Six-Year Vision

DC Darshan HV confirmed that the proposed plan is not a temporary patch but a comprehensive six-year roadmap designed to accommodate Mangaluru’s projected population growth. Key highlights of the plan include:

• Infrastructure Expansion: Laying additional pipelines to connect older neighborhoods to the main grid.

• STP Crackdown: Stricter enforcement of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) regulations. While new apartments are required to have functional STPs, many older buildings lack them entirely, and several newer units are reportedly non-functional.

• Budgetary Push: The plan has already been discussed with the district in-charge minister and the Secretary of the Urban Development Department. It is slated for formal presentation in the upcoming state budget.

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