SAUDI ARABIA:  As many as 50 Nepali workers have been left stranded in Saudi Arabia as their employer did not renew their residency permit.

Nepali migrant workers working with the Mohammad Al-Mojil Group Company in Saudi Arabia have been forced to live a confined life as the company did not renew their visa valid for one and two years. Besides, they have not been paid for the past 12 months by the company.

Saudi Arabia has a stringent provision regarding the illegal stay of people. A person shall automatically become an illegal resident with the expiry of residency permit and he/she shall directly be imprisoned if caught by the police.

The stranded workers complained that they have not got any support from the Nepali Embassy in Saudi Arabia to legalise their stay visa. They said that despite their repeated requests, their voices fell on deaf ears of the Embassy officials.

Though they have informed the Nepali Embassy about their problems in writing and verbally around eight months back, the problem has not changed, said Mahesh Paudel from Rapakot, Syangja.

When approached, Embassy Representative Hari Ghimire said, "The Embassy is effortful to address the problems of stranded workers in cooperation with their employer."