Falling rupee is music to families of expat labourers from Kendrapara

KENDRAPADA: The sharp fall of the Indian rupee has brought cheers to the family of around 30,000 labourers from Kendrapara district and nearby areas, who work abroad.
"Each month,overseas workers, particularly from the Gulf countries, send around Rs 5 crore to their families in Kendrapara district . The currency's depreciation means their effective earning will go up," said Bijaya Patnaik, the post master of Kendrapara district post office.
"The decline is bad for the economy as a whole. But it is good news for persons working in countries like the UAE, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arab as they will now remit more money to their families back home," said a bank officer of Kendrapara.
For every Dirham, a person working in the UAE was getting Rs 13 last year, but now they get Rs 17. 57.
Sixty-year-old Shyamasundar Rout of Pattamundai, who worked in Dubai as a plumber for 28 years, said, "My son Nalinikanta has been working in Dubai as a plumber in a construction company for the last three years. Each month he sends money to us. For the last three months, we have been receiving more money."
Kendrapara sends a large number of people every year to various foreign countries, who work mainly as plumbers. Places like Rajnagar and Pattamundai abound with stories of village youth going abroad with plumbing jobs and returning after amassing a lot of wealth, said Jagabandhu Nayak, the former chairman of Rajnagar block.