Sushma Swaraj seeks report on Indian stranded in UAE

Dubai, Dec 1 (IANS) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sought a report from the Indian Consulate in Dubai about an NRI after local media reported about the man’s desperate bid to return home.

Jagannathan Selvaraj, 48, who hails from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, has walked over 1,000 kilometres over the last two years to attend court proceedings in a bid to obtain a flight ticket back home in India.

"I have asked for a report from the Indian Embassy in Dubai," Swaraj tweeted on Thursday. The Minister took the step after Khaleej Times reported the story of the Indian man on Tuesday.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Selvaraj said he has braved traffic, heat, sandstorms and exhaustion while trekking along the busy highways of Dubai, travelling a distance of 22 km one way to reach Dubai Courts from his Sonapur accommodation (on the outskirts of Dubai) to attend the labour court proceedings.

Selvaraj began his court journeys after his mother died in Tamil Nadu and he was denied permission to go and attend her funeral.

His case has gone on for almost two years and Selvaraj said he must have walked at least 20 times to Karama district in Dubai from Sonapur and back — every time covering a distance of 50-plus kilometres in four hours.