Devendra BK of Damauli, Tanahun, a worker based in Saudi Arabia’s Alhabja, died in the workplace today. BK suffered injuries while working on a mixture machine and later died in the day, Dil Bahadur Gharti, BK’s friend, informed over the phone. Ninety migrant workers have been working in squalid conditions at the site for the past three months, he said.

According to Gharti, life is hard for Nepali migrant workers at the Allahbja-based Nakhir Company. “The workers have not received a salary for the past three months. If they ask for their salary, employers shout at them,” said Gharti. He added that many of them suffer from poor health due to excessive workload.

Many of these workers had paid Rs 1.25 lakh each to manpower companies, including Senet, Karnali, Maadi and Gulf Management, to land here, Gharti said. “Safe return has become a great challenge, let alone getting paid,” said Gharti. “We urge the government to rescue us.” He lamented that the Nepali Embassy in Saudi Arabia has done nothing so far to ameliorate their plight.

Published on: 14 September 2013 | The Himalayan Times