Stranded Indian sailors return from Scotland, get stuck in Delhi due to smog

Punjab man Vijay Kumar finally returned to India after being marooned in a ship off Scotland for more than 16 months only to be grounded in Delhi by the smog while his family still waits for him in AmritsarFamily responsibilities have finally led to two of the six crew members on board the seized Malaviya 7 near Scotland to return to India But the poor weather conditions in Delhi stalled the reunion of one of them Vijay Kumar 40 with his family after 16 months due to cancellation of services on Thursday afternoonVijay Kumar third from left and Captain Ashish Prabhakar wearing cap with the other crew membersCaptain Ashish Prabhakar returned to Mumbai in the early hours of Thursday While efforts to contact him did not yield results midday could reach out to Vijay at the Delhi airport where he spent entire Thursday due to nonavailability of a connecting flight to Amritsarmidday in the past few weeks has highlighted the plight of not only the sea fearers but also the staff at the Mumbai office of Ms GOL Offshore Limited which has not paid them for over a yearThe company which was once amongst the top employee friendly organisations in the shipping industry and an investors favourite on the Bombay Stock Exchange BSE with a share price anywhere between Rs 800 and Rs 850 until mid2000 hit the lowest price of Rs 1010 on July 18 2017No money to travelThe company would transfer around 1100 over Rs 70000 in my bank account and my wife Narender Kaur 38 could meet the expenses for our two sons Rishab Kumar 12 Anurag 10 and ailing father Sri Bishan Das 76 Vijay said He has not been paid for 16 months and the company owes him over Rs 1120000Vijay claimed he only had Rs 500 in cash and 50 Euro around Rs 900 when returning The 50 Euro was given to him by the International Transport Workers Federation ITF seafarers union He said he would always return with chocolates from abroad for his kids but this was the first time had had nothing to give themWhen asked why they decided to leave now Vijay said There was no point in being on the vessel with no money or future Also the family need my presence as there were instances when my children or my father was unwell and my wife had to take over the responsibilities Thankfully the tickets were sponsored by the locals Asked about support from Indian High Commission in Scotland Vijay replied in the negativeA ray of hopeThe Malaviya 7 crew has finally got a reason to smile as they have learnt that the vessel was sold Captain Ashish and Vijay had left before the rest of the crew learnt this Clay Vaz a crew member on board said We do not know the exact amount for which the vessel has been sold We are hopeful to return to India soonWhen asked about the dues he said They will be cleared as per the norms laid by the court We have been asked to leave the vessel by November 25 so we are counting the days Another crew member said In September 2017 the Aberdeen Sheriff Court had directed the vessel be sold to recoup the wages owed to the crew Approximately 612000 pounds by GOL Offshore Limited which was under liquidationAlso view Photos 10 unsolved murders in Mumbai