Iraq crisis: Vizagites shifted to Karbala, no signs of help from authorities

By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, June 26, 2014:  It’s been more than a week that 19 Vizagites are languishing in civil war ravaged Iraq, which is being highlighted by this newspaper, and there are no signs of any help from the authorities.

Those Vizagites, who reached the holy city of Al Najaf, without having the knowledge about the anarchic situation in Iraq have been stranded there since last Thursday and were looking for help to come back to India.

Ever since they have reached the project site of Baghdad based 4th Dimension Company at Al Najaf, Vizagites are said to have been protesting demanding the employers to ‘release’ them, give their passports and send them back to India.

 According to one of those stranded there, they have been now shifted to another project site in Karbala city, which is 100kms from capital city Baghdad, where they don’t have any Indians around.

Earlier, they were having Indians, especially Telugus with them at the project site where they were deployed by the workers in Al Najaf. Now they fear for their lives in the wake of separating them from the fellow Indians. They allege, they were shifted by the employers to Karbala in the guise of taking them to the nearest airport to send them to India.

“We have firmly told them that we are not going to work and send us back. Thinking that other Indians, who are also not interested in continuing the work there would join us, they have brought us here to Karbala, where there are no Indian workers at all except a few Iraqi men. They have brought us here saying we are being taken to airport to go back to India. They have deceived us. Now we fear what they are going to do us. We want to come back,” Garikana Prasad told this correspondent from Iraq over phone.

The local authorities only collected details about the names provided by the Ministry of External affairs for the purpose of cross checking but ignored to offer any help to the 19 Vizagites who have recently reached Iraq.

Around 19 persons, mostly between 20-25 age group from various mandals coming under Anakapalle parliament constituency have reached Al Najaf through, a Tanuku based agent, Medapati Venkata Krishna, to work at various construction sites of 4th Dimension Company. The group of welders, electricians, fitters, plumbers, labourers from Vizag district has reached Al Najaf after each of them paid Rs 1.5 lakh to the local agent for jobs in Iraq.

  List of the stranded passengers along with passport numbers:

Name                                    Passport number

Surisetti Poornachandra Rao  L 4386950

Chilluri Satti Babu L 5020125

Garikana Prasad L 6471380

Sivarchana Adiganesh K 9435567

Sarasa Ramesh J 9214264

Maddala Srinivas K 2287393

Baddi Dora Babu K 3415404

Gorle Shiva K 8548358

Chilluri Satish K 8545553

Gompa Chinna Rao K 8532921

Goddu Nookaraju K 2287195

Koda Bandaiah K 9433197

 Cheyyari Appanna L 6731231

Myalapalli Gurumurthy L 6731232

 Vasupalli Nookaraju L 4385223

Pothireddy Gopala Krishna K 2208944

Karri Govind K 9435922

 Golagani Venkat Rao K 5699752

Sivakoti Lakshmi Nrayana K 3772852