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Riyadh: Hundreds of Indian workers employed by Sendan International Company Limited have been stranded in Saudi Arabia for the past eight months, without salaries, basic necessities, or a means to return home.

The workers, based at the company’s Camp-17 on King Faisal West Road in Jubail, say they have not been paid for several months and are living in dire conditions without adequate food, clean water, or medical support. Many had been with the company for more than two years.

The situation came to light after independent journalist Ashraf Hussain shared a video on X (formerly Twitter), showing the workers appealing to the Indian government to intervene and facilitate their safe repatriation.

“A request to Shri @DrSJaishankar ji to take cognizance of this matter,” he wrote in a post.

In the video, the workers allege that the company has failed to pay their wages and is preventing them from returning to India. They describe their worsening condition, with some unable to afford medicine for their chronic illnesses.

“We don’t have any money. Some of the workers are heart patients and are unable to afford medicine,” said one of the stranded workers.

Watch the video here

Another shared, “The company didn’t allow me to return to India to attend my daughter’s wedding.”

When the workers asked the company for repatriation, they were allegedly refused funds. The response, according to the workers, was: “Wait, we will send you through the government.” However, when they reached out to officials, they were told, “The system isn’t working.”

Sendan International, established in 1994 and headquartered in Yanbu, is a construction-related services company operating in sectors including oil, gas, fertiliser, power, and transportation.

In response to the video, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh said, “We are in regular touch with some of the employees of the company. As per the details available with us, steps are being taken. We have also requested assistance from Saudi authorities.”

It’s not just Indian workers who are affected—reports suggest that employees from Nepal and Bangladesh are also among those stranded.

Separate case in Dammam

In a separate incident, nine other Indian migrant workers have been stranded in Dammam for the past four months after their employer allegedly stopped providing work and confiscated their passports, leaving them helpless and without any way to return to India.

The workers are now appealing to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and the Union Minister of External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar, to intervene and facilitate their safe repatriation.