& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

300 Bangladeshis stuck in visa glitch

Face no-job or arrest in KSA as Saudi authorities deny any error

Porimol Palma
At least 300 Bangladeshi workers staying in Saudi Arabia on “duplicate visas" are now stuck between a rock and a hard place as they have either to work illegally or get arrested and then deported anytime.
Bangladesh mission in Riyadh said Saudi embassy in Dhaka had an error in the computerised visa issuing process and some recruiting agencies took the advantage of it and had work visas stamped by the Saudi embassy for the second time to sen^ workers to the Kingdom.
Saudi Ambassador in Dhaka Abdullah Nasser Al Bussairy, however, outright denied any error in the visa issuing process. The computerisation of the visa issuing process of Saudi Arabia was made six months back The Saudi authorities included the previous manually Issued visas in the newly developed computer database, said a letter written by the Bangladesh mission in Riyadh.
“But the visas, which have already been stamped by the Saudi embassy in Dhaka were not marked in the database,” said the letter to the ministries of foreign and expatriates' welfare on June 20.
Some recruiting agencies took its advantage, the letter said. Bangladesh mission in Riyadh came to know that 300 workers went there on such duplicate visas, but recruiting agency sources said the number would be several thousand.
“If workers come to Saudi Arabia on duplicate visas, they will be in trouble and subjected to harassments,” it noted, adding that those workers will not get work permits and have to stay there in irregular status and may be arrested and repatriated anytime.
It said recruiting agency Maha International was alleged to have sent workers on such visas.
In another letter on August 12 this year, the Saudi Embassy citing complaints of 21 Bangladeshi workers said they went to Saudi Arabia in July and were sent to Jeddah to work for a company -- Al Initial.
But, when they wanted work permits or Iqamas, the company asked the workers to contact Al Riyadh Maintenance and Contracting Establishment Company in Riyadh for Iqamas saying they were originally employees of that company in Riyadh. After that those workers went to Al Riyadh Maintenance and Contracting Establishment Company but the company said it did not lure them and so they are not responsible for their work permits.
The workers then complained to the Bangladesh embassy prompting its officials to contact Al Riyadh Maintenance and Contracting Establishment. The company, however, said it hired 508 workers two years back from Bangladesh and that in recent times it had not issued any demand letters for workers.
The company's general manager alleged that may be any of the recruiting agencies might have made fake demand letters to send workers, adding that he had information that under such arrangement 300 workers were sent to Saudi Arabia, the letter said. These workers spent Tk 4 lakh each, it noted.
In another letter to the ministries concerned on August 29, Bangladesh Ambassador in Saudi Arabia M Fazlul Karim also said the recruiting agency Al Shikder International also sent workers under similar arrangements.
Though the ambassador blamed recruiting agencies, businessmen said none could do it if the Saudi embassy in Dhaka was not involved in it.
Asked about the matter Saudi Ambassador in Dhaka Abdullah Al Bussairy said, "There was no error in the database of visas. It can never happen that double stamping was done against one visa."
Sometimes companies issue demand letters, but hire workers within a span of two years when they need them, as the demand letters are valid for two years. But the recruiting agents sometimes send workers without companies' consent when workers are not required. That eventually causes troubles, Bussairy said.
“This may happen in this case. But I did not receive any complaint about it."
Meanwhile, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Elias Ahmed said the government was inquiring about the matter and will take stern actions if agencies are found responsible for such irregularities.