New Delhi: Stranded in Saudi Arabia for days without required documentation, seven Indian nurses were rescued by the Indian Embassy in the Kingdom, officials said. Efforts are now on at war-footing to repatriate them. Four of the seven nurses, who are mostly from the southern Indian state of Kerala, which produces the highest number of nurses in India, had first arrived at the Aghsan Aliwy hospital located in the the Hafr Al-Batin area five years ago, but their sponsor had abruptly refused to renew their residential permits now. “In the first case, four Indian female nurses – Ashley, Bindu, Aasha and Shely – came to the Kingdom five years ago to work in Aghsan Aliwy Hospital in Hafr Al-Batin,” an Indian embassy official told reporters. “The sponsor neither renewed the residence permits (Iqamas) of the workers nor did he allow the nurses to leave during vacations as per the provisions of the work agreements,” the official further said. In case of the three other nurses, namely Saramma Varghese, Subadhra Kuttan and Sree Nair, the medical clinic they worked in had closed down without any notice of closure leaving the Indian nurses stranded there. The Indian Embassy established communication with the hospital officials and involved some local Indian community leaders, once they learned of the plight of the Indian nurses. But it was only when Hafr Al-Batin deputy governor and the Director General of Health Mutlak Al-Khemyali, were informed about the matter that the latter, took up the issue with the sponsor to ensure that the nurses were allowed to exit the country. Indian states like Kerela, Goa have a high rate of migration especially to the Gulf region seeking employment in the services, hospitality and the healthcare sector.
