Indian to return home after 24 years in Saudi Arabia

A 52-year-old Indian national, who has been illegaly living in the deserts of Saudi Arabia for 24 years, will soon return to India after the government announced a 90-day amnesty period, according to a media report.

Gana Prakasam Rajamariyan came to Saudi Arabia in August 1994 to work as a farm-hand in a remote village in Hail province. Rajamariyan, hailing from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, said he was paid only Saudi Riyal 100 a month for six months by his first employer.

He was then "transferred" to another employer and a third a few months later. He has spent 24 years in the desert, without going home for once, a Saudi Gazette report said.

"Of the three employers, I was not sure which one was my sponsor. Above all, I did not receive any salary from them, so I decided to abscond and live illegally out of compulsion," the newspaper quoted Rajamariyan as saying.

He said his destiny was the deserts where he spent half of his life. "My four daughters were very young when I left home. Now when I return, I have grandchildren of the same age," he said. Rajamariyan said he was able to marry off three of his four daughters with his earnings in Saudi Arabia. He said he did not own a house nor did he have the Adhaar card or a voter ID.