Asian labourers in Doha denied food, water and electricity supplies

Dubai, Oct 17 (UNI) As many as 195 Nepalese and 5 Bangladeshis workers have been left without food, water and electricity for more than a week and are relying on the generosity of the expatriate workers to survive in Doha.

''The workers are living in pitiful conditions. They have no water, food or electricity. Some are in very critical conditions and need medical care,''a group of expatriate volunteers told Gulf news yesterday.

The labourers, working for a Qatar mega project, claimed that they have not been paid salaries for five or six months, and now were being denied the basic supplies to survive.

The workers are living in a camp in Qatar's industrial area. They do not know the name of the companies they work for or their employees.

None of the local authorities, labour department officials, diplomats at the Nepali embassy or human rights officials till yesterday had intervened or looked into the matter, the newspaper reported.

A group of Asian and Western residents on knowing about the workers' plight, visited them during the past week and provided them with water, food and medicines.

Asian workers are ill treated and denied basic rights by their local employers. With 150,000 members, the Nepalese community is the second largest expatriate group in Qatar after Indians. Nepalese labourers are employed mainly in the construction and energy sector for wages as little as 500 Qatari riyal per month.

UNI