Ambala man, others stuck in Uzbekistan

Nitish Sharma
Tribune News Service
Ambala, July 28

Jasbir Singh (37), a resident of Suhana village of the Mullana segment of Ambala, reportedly got stuck in Uzbekistan, where he landed in March earlier this year to earn livelihood. Now, his family is seeking support from the Centre to bring Jasbir back to India.

Gurnam Singh, Jasbir’s elder brother, said: “Jasbir, who works as a plumber, went to Uzbekistan to work on a project through a Mumbai-based company in February. After the shutdown there, he, along with other people, got stuck there. Jasbir has four children who are living with his wife. Earlier, he had worked in Saudi Arabia for three years and he returned last year. After staying here for four months, he got work in Uzbekistan. They are not getting food and water properly. The number of Covid patients is on the rise, but no one is paying attention towards them. There are around 1,400 Indians. They have prepared and shared a list of 229 persons with their passport and mobile numbers. They have not received salaries for the past two months.”

“Earlier, they kept requesting the embassy there. After getting no response, they have now started seeking help from the authorities in India. I met Kurukshetra BJP MP Nayab Singh Saini on Monday and requested him to help my brother and other people stuck there. He has assured me to raise the matter with the higher authorities,” he said.

A video is also being shared on the social media platform in which some men who are stuck there are seeking help from the Indian Government. In their appeal, the men claim: “We are trapped in Enter Engineering Company in Uzbekistan and we were sent through a Mumbai-based firm. Covid cases are on the rise here and nobody is listening to us. We don’t have any medical facility here. Nearly 10 people are staying in a room. We have no idea who is Covid positive among us. We also contacted the Indian embassy in Uzbekistan, but to no avail. We haven’t received any support. There are 1,400 Indians here from various states, including Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Kerala. The main management of the company has left. We have no idea whether we will get food or not in the coming days. We request the Indian Government to rescue us so that we can meet our families.”