"There were three deaths (of workers from the village) last year as well. "When people started leaving for Gulf states (in the 1980s), this region was reeling from years of drought. They had no option but to migrate," said Suresh Reddy, a politician from Telangana who has worked on the migration issue. "Chittam's annual savings rarely exceeded 12,000 Indian rupees ($185) and he sent home 4,000 to 5,000 rupees every few months. He worked in Dubai for 13 years and visited his wife and two children just five times during that period.

Source: Times of India October 30, 2017 05:03 UTC