President Pratibha Patil launches helpline service for Indian workers in UAE

President Pratibha Patil today launched a 24-hour helpline and counselling service dedicated to help Indian workers in distress in the UAE, which is home to one of the largest Indian expatriate communities.

Patil officially opened the Indian Workers Resource Centre that will provide the helpline service that is expected to quicken the mechanism to address any grievances they have.

The president is on a five-day official visit to the UAE where as many as 1.75 million Indians work.

The 24-hour helpline is being started by the ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) to deal with problems faced by Indian workers.

The helpline would facilitate early succour to distressed employees.

"This will be an important step to take the grievance redressal mechanism to the doorsteps of the large number of Indians, who are in distress and in need of urgent assistance," Patil had said while leaving for the UAE.