4 min readBhubaneswarMar 13, 2026 07:00 AM IST
With lakhs of blue-collar Odia workers stranded amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, the Odisha government has stepped up efforts for their return to the state.
Officials said they are in constant touch with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), through which they are trying to reach out to Odia people in the region.
The state government has constituted a high-level committee headed by Chief Secretary Anu Garg to take calls on the safe return of Odia people from the Gulf countries and ensure their safety.
Besides blue-collar workers mostly engaged in the construction sector in cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, officials said thousands of students and professionals from Odisha have also been trapped in the conflict-hit region.
Most people from Ganjam, Khurda, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore have migrated to Gulf countries to work in construction, refineries and plumbing for better earnings.
“Our son has gone to Abu Dhabi on a two-year contract to work as a welder. His decision to migrate to gulf countries was to have a better income so that he can start his own welding centre in our native place. We speak to him regularly but we are scared because of the ongoing situation,” said P Apana Reddy, whose son Venkat works as a welder.
Bijay Ketan Upadhyay, director, Odisha Parivar, told The Indian Express that they had received 200 distress calls from Odia people living in West Asia.
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“Whatever inputs we receive from the MEA sources about the operation of commercial flights, we pass the information accordingly,” he said.
Upadhyay said they are also in touch with Odia associations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to take stock of the situation on the ground and reach out to Odia people there. He said at least 35 people from the state who had gone to Dubai on tourist visas have returned home via Kochi and Mumbai airports.
As over 65,000 Indians have returned from Gulf countries through various routes, officials said most of them are professionals and students. There has been no specific information about the return of blue-collar workers.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi directed officials to keep a close watch on the situation and remain in constant touch with the MEA through the Resident Commissioner’s office in New Delhi.
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The issue has also triggered a political slugfest, with former chief minister and Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik targeting the BJP government for indulging in “horse trading” for Rajya Sabha polls instead of focusing on the safe return of Odias from the war zone.
“I can feel the fear and anxietv of the millions of Odias trapped in the midst of the horrific war in the Middle East From laborers to students. professionals. tourists, and travelers-thev are all extremely terrified. Even their families and loved ones back in Odisha are sitting there, anxiously awaiting their return,” Patnaik wrote on X.
He further said: “Air routes are closed, flights are being cancelled. and borders are shut as well. In such untimely circumstances, it is the duty of the Odisha government to safely bring back all Odias. However, the government’s failure to show any such urgency, to take swift steps, is only making their plight even more difficult. Why is the government remaining silent?”
