Hyderabad, August 07: Less than a year ago Lakshmamma’s husband Ramulu had gone to the Gulf in search of livelihood and clear his debt of Rs 4 lakh incurred on farming.
But four months later, Lakshmamma received the news of her husand’s death in a fire. Till now the family could hardly repay half of the debt.
Sayamma from Karimnagar lost her 25-year-old son who went to Saudi to repay their loans but committed suicide as he could niether live there nor return to his native place without repaying the loan.
The government promised Rs 1 lakh compensation and a job for her daughter-in-law which did not materialise.
Now, the family struggles to have two square meals a day.
Hundreds of families of Gulf victims, under the auspices of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, joined hands today demanding governmental support to their families. They attributed the cause of death of Gulf victims to mounting debts and the government’s failure to provide employment. “The government made several promises to provide employment, loans at lower interest rates
and other facilities for agriculture but did not fulfil any of them,’’ said K Narasimha Naidu, state co-convener of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch.
Members of the Manch conducted a study of the problems faced by Gulf victims and their families in about 300 villages of Karimnagar, Adilabad and Nizamabad districts.
The agitators demanded that the government intervene and solve the problems faced by the Telugus living in the Gulf and those who have returned.
They urged the government to appoint a senior IAS officer for the welfare of people from Andhra Pradesh apart from assuring prompt payment of due compensations. “Unless the government fulfills our demands, we are planning to intensify our agitation,’’ said Narasimha Naidu.
MLAs E Rajender, Vidyasagar Rao, Ranga Reddy, Mandava Venkateswara Rao and Anil Kumar pledged their support to the victims’ cause.
–Agencies–