KTR intervenes to help Telangana man stuck in Bahrain jail

KTR wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, urging immediate action to facilitate Narsaiah’s return to India.

Jeddah: Narsaiah had gone to Bahrain in 1996 to change the story of his life from one of despair to one of success. However, 28 years later, he is now waiting desperately behind bars in the foreign country, hoping to soon meet his family. Back home too, the story of despair turned even worse when the family was displaced from their village owing to the construction of the Mid Manair Dam wherein 12 villages were completely submerged in Rajanna-Sircilla district.

BRS working president KT Rama Rao’s intervention has sparked Narsaiah’s hope of returning home. The 62-year-old Manuwada Narsaiah, a native of Cheerlavancha village in Sircilla mandal, has not come back home since his arrival in 1996 in Bahrain and has not returned home since then.

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Unable to cater to his family’s needs with a meagre salary as a construction worker, Narsaiah had allegedly absconded from his employer, thus becoming an illegal occupant in the Kingdom and not being able to renew his residency visa or passport. Narsaiah’s visa had expired 21 years ago, while his passport expired 13 years ago.

Meanwhile, back home, his family had to relocate as the village was completely submerged and reportedly did not receive any compensation as they did not have any land holding. The family too fell into bad times, with Narsaiah’s wife Lakshmi becoming bedridden with prolonged illness, while his daughter’s interfaith marriage without consent of the family added to the pain. His only son is said to have turned an alcoholic addict as well.

Narsaiah was in between apprehended by the police during a routine inspection of visa violations last year and since then, he has been behind bars, waiting for repatriation. The family had contacted Pravasi Mitra president Manda Bheem Reddy to expedite the repatriation of Narsaiah. The only photo identification that Narsaiah’s family has is a voter identity card that was issued in 2003 when his village was part of Narella Assembly constituency, which now no longer exists following delimitation of assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies.

The verification of stranded Indians whose passports expired or those who are not in possession of a passport is mandatory prior to issuing a travel document by Indian missions abroad. The exercise is being carried out by Indian missions with the help of police back home. In this background, identification of photo and other particulars of Narsaiah has been on for months due to lack of any proper document with the family. With the intervention of KT Rama Rao, now both the family and Narsaiah are hoping for a reunion soon.