Hyderabad: Seventy-eight employees of the Baghdad Soft Drinks Company landed at Shamshabad airport in the afternoon, waving out to their family members who had come from villages to receive them. They were lab-technicians, machine workers and officers in the bottling plant in Iraq, who were stuck inside the company compound from June, when the conflict began.
The workers, who worked and also stayed in the premises within the factory, had spent sleepless nights and terrifying days as incessant firing and bomb blasts occurred continuously around them.
Read: Abducted Kerala nurses reach home; 78 employees from Hyderabad return
A total of 250 Indian workers were working at the plant and the 78 employees from both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have finally been able to return to India. Another 50 workers from Telangana are still held up there and are seeking help from the Indian Embassy.
Read: It’s a rebirth, say nurses
M. Kiran from Karimnagar said, “I joined the company as a lab-technician only in March 2014. I paid the agent Rs 1.6 lakh for the visa and have not been able to recover any money due to this crisis. I owe money to friends and family members. I am not sure what I will do.”
Similarly, Ganesh from Jagtiyal said, “I have been there for the last 18 months. Our factory is on the outskirts of Baghdad. In June, the firing started and it occurred at least three to four times in a day. Sometimes it would start at midnight and continue nonstop. We were very frightened. We could not even sleep properly. Now, I am glad to be back.”
Read: Militants never misbehaved, says the rescued nurses
Some of them even complained that the fighting became an excuse for the owners to make them starve with one meal a day. The cooks ran away once the fighting started. And the owners used to come once a week with a limited stock of food and asked the stranded workers to ration the supplies as the fighting had made things difficult.
T. Yadiah from Kurnool said, “We are glad to be back, but we want the government to help us as we are jobless now.” The workers fear that if they have to apply for new visas and new work permits for new jobs, it will impose a huge financial burden on them. Hence, they are looking forward to state aid.
Read: Nearly 600 Indian nationals to be back from Iraq in next 2 days
P. Sudhakar Reddy, a Congress MLC from Telangana, asked Centre to curb the menace of fraud middle-men. “Job and life security of Indians working abroad should be ensured by the Indian Embassy,” he added.
Watch: Nurses happy to reach home safely
