Hyderabad: More than 250 people from Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad and also a few from AP are stranded in the Pepsi Manufacturing Unit in Erbil in Iraq. When contacted, many said that they are now being asked to leave the place. However, they added that the human resource manager at the company had their passports, without which they would not be able to leave.
Shiva Lingam, a 42-year-old from Adilabad, left to work at the company eight months ago. “There are 250 Telugu-speaking people here. An agent named Jagdish sent us. The gates here are always kept locked and we are not allowed to step outside. There are rooms for us and food too is provided. However, now our Iraqi manager is asking us to leave,” he said. Mr Shiva added that they had paid Rs 1 lakh to Jagdish, and Rs 50,000 to another person in Delhi.
Another worker, G. Ramulu, a native of Karimnagar, said, “We haven’t been paid this month’s salary and now they are asking us to leave without our passports. We have been trying to contact our families. We need help to get out of here.”
Mr Rajesh N., a 35-year-old from Dharmapuri, Karimnagar, had gone with Mr Ramulu. “We know that a lot of violence is happening, but we don’t know what to do. The company has been temporarily shut down and we do not have any work now. They are asking us to leave.”
