CM sanctions Rs 3.56 lakh to help Gurdaspur resident return

Responding swiftly to a letter from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Capt Amarinder Singh has sanctioned a sum of Rs 3,56,700 on humanitarian grounds, to facilitate the return of a Gurdaspur resident from Sharjah.
The amount has been sanctioned from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, officials said.
The amount has been released against the pending wages of Vikram Singh, who refused to leave a ship along with five other Indian nationals on account of the non-payment of their salaries for the past several months.
In a letter to Chief Minister Singh, Swaraj had said the Indian consulate in Dubai had informed her ministry that Vikram and the others were stuck on the 'Sharjah Moon' ship, owned by a firm M/s Alco Shipping, an official spokesperson of the chief minister's office said.

The consulate said that the sailors had not been paid their salaries for about 6-12 months and the owner of the ship was refusing to cooperate.
Swaraj said the consulate was helping the sailors and was willing to pay for their return airfare but they did not have any provision for payment of their outstanding wages.
She sought the state government's help in this regard,the spokesperson said here today.
The spokesperson said that Swaraj had assured of Vikram's repatriation, at the earliest, once the state government makes provisions regarding the payment of his pending wages.