75000 Indians Working In S.Arabia To Be Sent Back

New Delhi, May 25, IRNA -- As of May 20, 75,000 Indians have registered with the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate in Jeddah to be processed and be sent back due to Nitaqat law. There are nearly three million Indians in Saudi Arabia. Nearly 57,000 applications have been processed but it is estimated that many more will approach the Embassy in the coming days. With thousands of Indians set to return from Saudi Arabia due to the ˈNitaqatˈ law, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid Friday state governments have been ˈforewarnedˈ so that the situation does not become ˈunmanageableˈ. Khurshid, who is on his way to Saudi Arabia on an official visit, said the government was in touch with Saudi authorities to fasten the formalities so that the deadline of July 3 given by them could be adhered to. The ˈNitaqatˈ program, which is meant to regularize foreign workers, makes it mandatory for local companies to hire one Saudi national for every 10 migrant workers, pti reported. Those who fail to find another job or a sponsor has to go back. As a result of this law, a number of people who were working without valid work permits and runaways have come under the scanner. Once the grace period time till July 3 ends, all those expatriates who are found Saudi Arabia without valid papers will be jailed and heavily penalized./end