VK Singh assures assistance to stranded, jobless Indians in Saudi Arabia

Mecca (Saudi Arabia), Aug 5 (ANI): As over 7,000 jobless Indians remain stuck in Saudi Arabia, Minister of State for External Affairs General (Retd.) V. K. Singh reached Mecca to assess the situation and finalise modalities to bring back those wanting to return to India. The Minister assured the Indian workers, saying their concerns would be addressed at the earliest. Currently, a total of 7,700 affected Indian workers are living in 20 camps and the embassy is in the process of collecting information about others residing in different parts of Saudi Arabia. Thousands of Indians are facing severe food crisis due to financial hardships after they lost their jobs due to slowdown of the economy in the Gulf. Earlier this week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had informed the Parliament about the crisis and given details of the efforts being made by the government to help out stranded workers. Swaraj also told the Rajya Sabha that the King had asked Saudi authorities to ensure that free food was provided to the Indians, adding that Saudi Arabia has also agreed to provide free medical facility and allowed eligible Indian workers to seek re-employment with other companies. (ANI)