Indian external affairs ministry's help sought to save fishermen stranded in Oman

An official request letter has been sent to Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar, urging his intervention in repatriating eight Indian fishermen stranded in Oman. Hailing from Kanyakumari, the southernmost district of India, the group of fishermen had gone to Oman around four months ago on a work visa. However, they haven't been paid their salaries since their month of arrival and their visa sponsor is said to have been unresponsive.

"We came to Oman from Kanyakumari, it's been four months since we came here and we worked for two months. On request the owner to pay us our salary, he didn't do it. We don't have food or groceries and the owner hasn't met us in two months. When we approached the (Indian) embassy, they asked for our passport, but our passport is held by the owner and he is demanding over $1400 (Rs 110,000) to release our passport" the fishermen are seen saying in a video appeal.

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The Tamil Nadu unit of India's ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party has appealed to Dr. Jaishankar to ensure the safe repatriation of the Indian nationals, at the earliest. "We also request our Indian embassy in Oman to escalate this matter to the Ministry of Labour in Oman to ensure that these eight fishermen are paid their salary dues" read the letter by K. Annamalai, State President, TN BJP.

(With inputs from agencies)

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