76 Telangana, Andhra nurses return from Iraq

A group of 78 Indian workers including 76 nurses stranded in war-ravaged Iraq landed here Saturday.

The group arrived here by a special aircraft at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad on the outskirts of the city.

Officials are making arrangements to send the workers to their respective hometowns in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states.

They were among 183 Indians who arrived by a special Air India flight from Erbil, capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region. The flight reached here via Kochi, where 46 nurses from Kerala disembarked.

There were emotional scenes at the airport as the workers re-united with their families. They complained of ill-treatment by the employers and many of them said they were not paid salaries for three months.

A worker said he was cheated by the agent, who had promised him job visa for Rs.150,000. On arrival in Iraq, he was given a visit visa.

An official of Telangana government said 52 nurses from the state were among those who returned Saturday. Forty of them belonged to Karimnagar district, nine to Adilabad district, two to Medak and one to Nizamabad district.

The commissioner, information and public relations, said government representatives received the workers at the airport. "They are being transported at government cost to their respective places through buses," he said.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao has expressed happiness on the safe return of the nurses and thanked the Centre for bringing them back to Telangana.

More than 600 workers from Telangana are stranded in Iraq and majority of them work are labourers in construction sector.

An official statement from Andhra Pradesh government said the officials received 24 nurses who arrived here Saturday. On the directions of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, they were given food and medicare and provided transport to their native places.