• Source:JND
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Forty-eight migrant workers from Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh, Giridih, and Bokaro districts have been stranded in Tunisia for over three months after their employer allegedly stopped paying them. Facing acute food shortages and financial distress, the workers have appealed to the Indian government and the Jharkhand administration for immediate assistance to return home.

The stranded labourers were allegedly employed by Prem Power Construction Private Limited, a Gurugram-based company, for a contract project in Tunisia. However, soon after reaching the North African country, they discovered discrepancies in their job terms and have since been working under difficult conditions.

“We Were Misled,” Say Workers

In a video message shared on social media, the workers alleged that they were promised formal employment contracts upon arrival in Tunisia, but no agreement papers were ever issued. “We were told that we will work for eight hours a day, but we are being forced to work for nearly 12 hours without pay,” one of the stranded men said in the video.

They further claimed that when they demanded payment of their pending wages, company officials threatened them with imprisonment and warned they would not be allowed to return to India. The workers say they have not received their salaries for the last four months and have now run out of money to buy food or other essentials. “We are surviving on little food left and have no money to even call our families back home,” another worker said.

Workers From Three Districts Stranded

Of the 48 stranded men, 19 are from Hazaribagh, 14 from Giridih, and 15 from Bokaro. The Hazaribagh workers include Amar Deep Chaudhary, Jivadhan Mahato, Dhaneshwar Mahato, Jageshwar Kumar Mahato, Govind Kumar Mahato, Khirodhar Mahato, Nagendra Kumar Mahato, Kailash Mahato, Neelkanth Mahato, Anantlal Mahato, Khushlal Mahato, Mukesh Kumar, Mantu Mahato, Gangadhar Mahato, Dinesh Turi, Devendra Thakur, and Shankar Ghansi.

From Giridih, the affected workers are Nandlal Mahato, Santosh Mahato, Gurucharan Mahato, Manoj Kumar Mandal, Khub Lal Mahato, Ashok Kumar, Jhandu Mahato, Seva Mahato, Murli Mandal, Sukhdev Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Sanjay Kumar Mahato, Sunil Tudu, and Mirulal Hansda.

The 15 men from Bokaro include Ajay Kumar, Anil Kumar, Gopal Mahato, Rajesh Karmali, Lalu Karmali, Jagannath Mahato, Ruplal Mahato, Deepak Singh, Karu Singh, Subodh Marandi, Sukhdev Mahato, Jagannath Mahato, Birsa Turi, Manoj Kumar Ravidas, and Khedan Singh.

Call For Government Intervention

Social activist Sikandar Ali urged both the state and central governments to take swift diplomatic steps to ensure the safe return of the workers. “These men are in dire condition. The Ministry of External Affairs must intervene immediately through the Indian Embassy in Tunisia,” he said.

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Bagodar MLA Nagendra Mahato also said he would write to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, seeking urgent intervention to secure the workers’ release and ensure payment of their pending wages. “Their safety and repatriation must be the top priority,” he added.

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The families of the stranded men in Jharkhand are anxiously waiting for updates. Many of them said their sole breadwinners have been trapped abroad with no food or money, and they hope the government will act before the situation worsens further.

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