The Telangana government has sanctioned Rs six lakh to bring back the mortal remains of Avilala Sudarshan, a worker from Jagtial district who died in Ukraine following a Russian rocket attack on September 1, officials said on Tuesday.
Sudarshan was employed by a company in Ukraine as a formworker involved in reinforced concrete products, according to official sources. His wife, Avilala Bhargavi, sought financial assistance through the CM Pravasi Prajavani, a people’s grievance redressal forum, in Hyderabad on October 9 after the family was unable to arrange the repatriation costs.
Mandha Bheem Reddy, vice-chairman of the Telangana government’s NRI Advisory Committee, told PTI that Rs six lakh had been sanctioned for Bhargavi from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The assistance followed a request from Telangana Minister for SC Development Adluri Lakshman Kumar, who met the family at the grievance forum and raised the matter with officials in the Chief Minister’s Office.
The Indian Embassy had advised the family to pay Rs six lakh for the repatriation of Sudarshan’s mortal remains after his employer expressed an inability to bear the cost, officials said. The family had been waiting for more than a month for the remains to be brought back, according to the minister’s representation to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
The case has brought attention to the administrative and financial difficulties families can face when workers die abroad, particularly in areas affected by armed conflict. In Sudarshan’s case, the family approached a state grievance mechanism after the employer declined to cover the repatriation expense and the embassy indicated the amount required.
The Telangana government’s assistance is being released through the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, with the CM Pravasi Prajavani serving as the channel through which the family’s request was presented. Minister Lakshman Kumar also conveyed condolences to the bereaved family during his visit.
The report also referred to a separate case involving Telangana residents who were allegedly drawn into military duties at the warfront in Russia after being misled by agents. Sirushu Ashok, one of the men involved, sent an audio message to his wife saying that his colleague Afzal Khan had died. However, officials said there was no confirmation of Khan’s death.
Families of four people from Telangana’s Nizamabad and Kamareddy districts, including Ashok and Khan, had submitted a representation at the CM Prajavani seeking the chief minister’s intervention for their safe repatriation. The two cases remain distinct: the state has sanctioned assistance for the return of Sudarshan’s remains, while Khan’s reported death had not been officially confirmed at the time of the report.
