Addressing a press conference at the Indian Consulate on Sunday, Baba highlighted community welfare issues regarding Indians in the Kingdom.

Baba said the number of Indian Haj, Umrah and visit visa overstayers was much less compared to other countries.

“It is almost nil. What we have is mostly runaway cases,” he said.

“The reason employees run away from their sponsors could be that something bad was done to them or they didn’t like the job for some reason. But because the amnesty does not cover cases of runaway employees, they were not able to benefit. To date, we have a total of 8,029 applications for emergency certificates.”

The consul general added that white-collar workers were more aware of their rights.

“But it is not easy to help ordinary workers settle their disputes with their sponsors, because many are illiterate and don’t understand what a sponsor is and what their own rights are as workers. Some don’t even know the names of their sponsors,” he said.

“They come in groups and are scattered all over the Kingdom. If someone is in Jazan, how can we help if we don’t know who they are or where they are?”

According to the consulate, there are currently about 300 Indian nationals camped under the Khandra bridge in Jeddah, hoping to be picked up by the authorities and deported.

The consulate has already briefed local authorities of the situation and requested their early deportation.

Medical assistance and one meal a day have been given to those staying under the bridge.

“Indian women don’t need to stay under the bridge, as the consulate will make arrangements for them to stay in polyclinics where they can also get medical assistance, all paid for by us, while we try to solve their cases,” he said.

Baba said the process of issuing emergency certificates has been computerized to help make them more authentic and praised the role of community welfare organizers and volunteers for their assistance in helping Indians in need.

“They are the unsung heroes and should be respected. For example, we don’t have branches in Jazan, and suppose an accident happens, can we get there right away to help? But it’s the people in Jazan, the community welfare volunteers, who can come forward and offer help immediately,” he added.

The entire western region, from Tabuk in the north to Jazan in the south, is covered by the consulate.  One million Indians are estimated to be living in this region.