India to bring back starving workers from Saudi Arabia

Indian government Monday said it would evacuate all the Indian workers currently stranded in Saudi Arabia.

"The government will make all arrangements to bring back Indian workers currently stuck in Saudi Arabia," India's Foreign Minister, Sushma Swaraj told India parliament.

Thousands of Indian workers have lost their jobs in Saudi Arabia and cannot afford to pay for food and a flight back home.

Swaraj said the Indian mission in Riyadh has arranged free ration to the stranded workers. Officials said over 10,000 Indian workers were facing food crisis in Saudi Arabia.

Swaraj informed the fellow lawmakers that India's junior minister for Foreign Affairs, V K Singh would travel to Riyadh on Tuesday to sort out the matter and arrange exit documents for the return of stranded workers.

"The government will also take steps to ensure that the Indian workers will get their salaries," she said.

Reports said the workers employed by construction companies in Saudi Arabia were laid off amid a slowdown in the industry in wake of low global oil prices.

On Saturday, Swaraj said she was personally monitoring the development in Saudi Arabia. The minister also made an appeal to Indians working in Saudi Arabia to help their brethren.

Over 3 million Indian are working in Saudi Arabia.

With dearth of jobs and low salaries at home, thousands of Indian workers travel to the Middle East every year for better prospects.

A similar crisis about laying off workers has also unfolded in Kuwait. Endit