HYDERABAD: Gulf returnees to the state are landing in a peculiar situation after spending a good part of their lives in foreign lands.
The absence of an NRI policy in Telangana state is one of the causes of their troubles, NRI activists said.
The state NRI policy has been in the works for the last couple of years but yet to be introduced. It will deal with detail of issues related to rehabilitation and welfare of the returnees.
“The sooner, the better for Gulf returnees. More and more people are returning from Middle-East countries owing to various policy changes taking place in that region,” said M. Bheem Reddy of Telangana migrant righsts council.
A good number of people returning from the Gulf after working there for many years belong to Hyderabad. “We left our families and went to the Gulf as we were unable to get employment in the state. After working hard for several years, we have returned empty-handed. Whatever little we could save has gone into funding for our families and educating children,” said Mohd Imtiyaz, who worked in a private construction company before returning.
In better times, the Gulf migrants used to send money through legal channels which benefitted the government.
Now, there should be a financial assistance package for us. It will be good if we are given some preference in bank schemes,” said Taheruddin who now drives an auto-rickshaw.
AIMIM MLC Syed Aminu-ul-Hasan Jafri said that the state government could take a cue from the Kerala government which has an exclusive ‘non-resident Keralites affairs’ department to deal with issues related to the returnees. “We need to have a department and a ministry portfolio on similar lines. There is an urgent need for it. A large part of the workforce in GCC countries belongs to the two Telugu states, who will return home eventually,” he said.
