Daijiworld Media Network (SR)

Hyderabad, Jun 27: V Muraleedharan, Junior Foreign Minister, on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that a shocking 1,656 workers from Andhra Pradesh died in Gulf countries over the past three years. The minister also stated that most of the AP immigrants, who work as cleaning staff and maid servants, are from Kadapa, Chittoor and Godavari districts.

As an answer to a query from Machilipatnam MP Vallabhaneni Balashowry, the minister said, “A compilation showing the total number of deaths of people from AP for each of the Gulf countries during the last three years is 1,656.”

He also stated that the government has been running awareness campaigns through labour camps to tackle the cause of workers deaths in Gulf countries that is mainly due to suicides and road accidents.

The government is also providing adequate help to Indian workers who face difficulties, such as excessive working hours, lack of medical facilities and excessive exposure to heat and sunstroke, he said.

“The untimely death of most of them, aged between 30 and 40 years, happened because of excessive heat and sleeplessness due to work pressure. Family issues back home were another major reason for suicides,” said Gulf immigrant right activist P Basanth Reddy, as per TOI report.