Mortal remains of Telangana man reached from Saudi to Hyderabad after 145 days of death

Mortal remains of Telangana man reached from Saudi to Hyderabad after 145 days of death
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Sunke Rajaiah 

Highlights

Family members and relatives have been waiting for almost five months to see the human remains of their loved one who died in a distant land, but the body of the deceased was finally flown to the Hyderabad airport on Saturday evening.

Family members and relatives have been waiting for almost five months to see the human remains of their loved one who died in a distant land, but the body of the deceased was finally flown to the Hyderabad airport on Saturday evening.

Sunke Rajaiah (55) of Kondapur Village, Velagatur Mandal of Jagtial District of Telangana died on April 14 while being treated at a hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The shipment of the coffin to India was delayed due to the suspension of flights in the lock down.

The issue was brought to the attention of the Indian Embassy in Riyadh on June 21 through the portal MADAD (Consular Services Management System) by T. Jeevan Reddy, Member of Legislative Council, Telangana State. Diplomatic officials replied to him that the embassy was not aware of the matter even though Sunke Rajaiah had been dead for more than a month.They assured that they would register the death immediately and begin the repatriation process. Sending the body was further delayed as the sponsor did not issue the exit permit in a timely manner. Badugu Laxman, a Telangana social worker in Saudi, worked with his team to send the body from Saudi to India.

Sunke Rajaiah's body will finally reach Hyderabad Airport from Riyadh (via Dubai) on Saturday at 7.30 pm, said Bheem Reddy Mandha, President, Emigrants Welfare Forum, who is in constant touch with the Embassy. The family members said that the funeral will be held in the village on Sunday morning.

On the initiative of local Dharmapuri MLA and state minister Koppula Eshwar, the NRI department of the Telangana state government has provided a free ambulance facility for transporting the body from Hyderabad to their native village. Rajaiah has a wife Shankaramma, daughters Gangajala and Sonia and a son Tirupati. The family members of Rajaiah thanked the local leaders Thigulla Sanjeeva Reddy and Poreddy Chandra Reddy for their cooperation during the difficult times.

Every year about 2,600 Indians are dying in Saudi Arabia for various reasons like heart attack, illness, suicide, work site accident, road traffic accident etc. The bodies of Chiliveri Lacham of Jagtial District and Chetkuri Rajesham of Rajanna Sircilla District of Telangana were also repatriated recently from Saudi Arabia with a long delay.

The cancellation of visas and transportation cost are prime reasons behind the delay in repatriation of dead bodies, said Swadesh Parkipandla, President, Pravasi Mithra Labour Union. Any given time around 100 mortal remains of Indian workers are lying in mortuaries in Saudi Arabia waiting to be repatriated back home. Log jam in repatriation of dead bodies in the jurisdiction of Indian Missions in Riyadh and Jeddah due to staff shortage.

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