Saudi deports 257 Bangladeshis for illegal entry

Dubai, Aug 4: In the wake of Kuwait deporting hundreds of Bangladeshis for violent protests, Saudi Arabia has also sent 257 workers to Dhaka over the last seven days. The Bangladeshi workers were from deportation centers in Riyadh and Dammam, where they had been stranded for quite some time without valid travel or work permits.

Asked whether the Saudi government arranged a special flight to deport the workers, a Bangladesh embassy official told Arab News, ''They were flown on board different airlines and in most of the cases, the cost of tickets was borne by the Saudi government.'' ''This mass deportation is not related to any plan to get rid of our workers. In fact, it is a routine affair,'' he added.

UNI