Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad addresses the members of the Indian community gathered to celebrate India's 62nd Republic Day at Indian Embassy premises in Riyadh, Wednesday. (SG photo by K.N. Wasif)RIYADH: Indian workers must check that their recruitment agencies are credible before coming to the Kingdom, said Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad, addressing members of the Indian community gathered at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh to celebrate the country's 62nd Republic Day, Wednesday. The ceremony was the first time a large number of Indians, mostly unskilled workers attended the flag hoisting ceremony. The Indian workers started arriving at the Indian Embassy as early as 5.30 A.M to see if they would be able to go home. A record number of Indian workers are applying for Emergency Certificates (EC) that would allow them to get amnesty and go home. The amnesty ends in March. The Saudi government has announced a six-month amnesty for foreigners who overstayed after the expiry of their Haj, Umrah and visit visas. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate General of India in Jeddah are issuing the ECs to Indians, about 80 of whom are runaway (huroob) workers. The envoy lambasted the recruiting agencies for not doing their job properly before processing employment visas. He said there were some unscrupulous recruiting agents processing work visas and sending the workers without verifying if the company or employers are the right entities for employment. “Some of the recruiting agents are engaged in sending the Indian workers on work visas without even verifying or scrutinizing the authenticity of the employer,” he said. Ahmad, who started his speech in English, switched to Hindi to inform the workers to use the Indian Embassy website or send email to the Labor Section and get information about the authenticity of a company or employer. He urged Indian workers to avoid following the recruiting agents' instructions blindly before coming to work in Saudi Arabia. “We are here to serve you but before that you should know about the company and the nature of the job before signing an employment contract in India,” the envoy said. He said all staff at the Indian embassy has been deployed to work on Thursdays to help those who applied for amnesty. Earlier, Ahmad unfurled the Indian tricolor and read out the president's message. A photo exhibition on India's Heritage by K.N. Wasif was also organized on the sidelines of the event.
