Here’s how suspension of flights to India has made lives of Indian expats in KSA difficult
Bangalore: Continued lock down across the country and suspension of all international flights to prevent spread of COVID – 19, has sparked problems and inconveniences to the lives of Indian Expatriates irrespective of labors and entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. Different stories of expatriate ordeals have surfaced in the media from the kingdom. Here are some stories we could hear.
Abdul Razaq, a resident of Udupi in Karnataka has been running small scale business in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, based on oil refinery projects of the government. Undergoing medical treatment for his stage I cancer, he used to regularly visit India for the treatment which he is unable to do now owing to the lock down and suspension of International flights.
“I was regularly visiting home country for the treatment of cancer. Now I cannot go as international flight facility has been stopped. I expect that government will hear problems of expatriates and will arrange facilities to take us back to home”, he said.
Mubeen from Bangalore, was working on temporarily for a company in Jubail. He had lost his jobs as some of his colleagues due to lock down.
“As everything was alright, I had brought my parents recently to Saudi Arabia on Visit Visa. Things changed drastically with covid 19 attack. Continues Lock down caused burden over the company and they removed temporary employees like me to control possible losses” he said.
“Now owner of the flat has been harassing me for rent. I do not have money either to pay rent or to cover daily family expenses. I do not know what to do further”, he added.
Iqbal from Mangalore left to Saudi Arabia to help his family. He went to Dammam, Saudi Arabia recently to work as juice maker in a juice center. Corona Lockdown made his life difficult in Saudi Arabia. He is eager to return his home country.
“I came to Saudi Arbia as I faced financial difficulty. I had not found any job with good salary there. I thought I can earn good income by going to Saudi Arabia. As I reached here the salary was not so good. Because of lock down juice center is closed and sponsor is giving very small amount of money as salary through which we cannot afford our expenses and our families back in home” He said.
“Here It is not easy get help of fellow Indians since most of them have their own ordeals. I would like to return home country; there however we can manage to get help of friends and relatives. I am looking forward the help of Indian government to start air facility for stranded NRIs”, he said.
Mohsin who hails from Mysore is a Taxi driver in Dammam. He was earning income on commission basis. Due to lockdown Saudi government banned movement of taxis in the region, which has made the his life and of his fellow drivers difficult who are unable to sustain their livelihood in the kingdom due to lockdown.
“We were working on commission basis. We were earning commissions daily on the basis of trips. Now we cannot move outside with taxi since it may cause us to pay the fine of SR.10000. How can I manage my expenses and family members in home?”, he asked.
There are cases of pregnant women who have to return to India for delivery. Those who brought family here on visit visa will not have insurance. Delivery charges and any kind of medical facilities without insurance in Saudi Arabia is very expensive. Expatriate Indians with such problems are awaiting government’s help.
“I had brought my wife on one year visit visa. Now she is pregnant and I have to send her back to home for delivery. If lock down continues, it is difficult to send back and we have to spend big amounts for delivery without insurance. It is a big burden to me as I work for small salary in a company”, said Yunus from Hyderabad, who is living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Lockdown hunts even entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia. Most of Expatriates in Jubail, Saudi Arabia are doing business based on Saudi Government’s oil refinery projects. Saudi Arabia temporarily stopped most of the projects as part of public health safety measures to practice social distancing.
“We are doing business based on oil refinery projects. Now projects are stopped. We brought around 1100 people on work permit visa on temporary basis. And also, we have around 1200 permanent workers. It is a big burden to provide them with food, accommodation and salary. It may cause a big loss for our company”, said owner of Expatriates Company, Sheikh Mohammed.
Saudi Arabia had reported first corona virus affected case on March 2, 2020. At the end of March, it was 1600 and so far it reached 5369. Only in last 15 days the number of virus affected increased by 3769. Already Saudi Health ministry cautioned the number of affected people may rise 10000 to 200,000 and directed for more precautionary measures. In such case, the Indian expatriates may have to face crisis in the region.
Indian expatriate organizations are demanding for immediate intervention of Indian Government to ensure better quarantine facility and treatment of NRIs in Saudi Arabia as the cases are increasing rapidly. The conditions of laborers in some of the camps are such that seven to eight people should share a single-bed room.
“Normally if there is a flat, it will consist of three to four bed rooms. In single bedroom companies will provide three four bunk beds and six to eight people should share the room. In such cases, if a person affected with virus it will spread quickly to others. Thus, Indian government should ensure quarantine facility for NRIs”, Says Wasim Rabbani, president of Indian Social Forum, Eastern Region, Saudi Arabia.
President of Karnataka Non Residential Indians, a forum for the NRI organizations of Karnataka, Zakaria Muzain says Indian Government should immediately interfere to bring back those stranded NRIs who wish to return home. Government should intervene to pressure Indian embassy to take the issues of troubled expatriates.
“Government should make special flight arrangement for such NRIs in trouble. It should also arrange quarantine facility for those who return to India. Already there are many Non-Governmental charity organization which have come forward to give their facilities for NRIs”, he said.
NRIs from all categories are looking forward for the help of Indian Government. It is important to Indian government to take quick action as the problem are increasing in Saudi Arabia.
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AI-powered robotic canal cleaning system commissioned in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) (PTI): In a major step to phase out manual scavenging and ensure the safety of sanitation workers, the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation commissioned G-Spider, an AI-powered robotic canal-cleaning system, at the Amayizhanchan canal near the railway station premises at Thampanoor here, officials said on Thursday.
The system was launched by Minister for Local Self-Governments MB Rajesh at a function presided over by Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Mayor VV Rajesh on Wednesday.
The AI-powered canal cleaning project is a joint initiative of the city corporation and Technopark-based Genrobotic Innovations, which developed Bandicoot, a robotic scavenger.
As per the agreement, Genrobotics will bear the full cost of deploying the robotic system, while the corporation will supervise its operation and maintenance.
Speaking at the event, the minister said Genrobotics has set an example of how innovative ideas can be transformed into impactful entrepreneurship.
He said that of the seven compressed biogas (CBG) plants to be commissioned in the state for solid waste management, one will be set up in the state capital.
Rajesh said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the Rs 100-crore CBG plant at Brahmapuram in Kochi on February 28, adding that 90 per cent of the nine lakh metric tonne of accumulated waste at the site has already been removed.
He further said work on the Palakkad plant will be completed in February, while construction of another plant in Thrissur is progressing, and a plant at Changanassery is in the pipeline.
The minister added that the construction of four sanitary plants will be inaugurated next week.
In his address, the mayor reiterated the corporation’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technologies for waste management and lauded the Genrobotics team, stating that the civic body would explore all possible ways to utilise the company’s technology.
Repeated manual cleaning efforts in the area had led to serious safety incidents, including the death of sanitation worker Joy in 2024.
In this backdrop, the corporation initiated the deployment of robotic cleaning technology in strict compliance with the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, with the aim of eliminating human entry into hazardous canal-cleaning operations, officials said.
Corporation Deputy Mayor Asha Nath GS, Divisional Railway Manager Divyakant Chandrakar, and Genrobotic Innovations CEO and co-founder Vimal Govind MK were present on the occasion.
G-Spider is designed to operate in complex, high-risk canal environments without requiring human entry.
Built on a cable-driven parallel robotics architecture integrated with AI-enabled vision and sensor systems, the robotic platform enables precise detection, assessment and removal of accumulated waste.
The system uses machine vision and intelligent sensors to autonomously identify and assess waste in real time, dynamically adapting to varying waste types, water flow conditions and structural constraints within canals, officials said.
Guided by AI-driven vision algorithms, the robotic mechanism performs precise waste extraction through a five-degrees-of-freedom configuration, enabling accurate positioning, stable gripping, and reliable debris removal.
The extracted waste is automatically transferred to designated collection vehicles, enabling a fully hands-free, end-to-end canal cleaning process from detection to disposal, they added.
