Starting 1 October, Qatar will start implementing stricter regulations that may cause the closure of many small restaurants in the country. Apart from upholding cleanliness and safety standards, the new regulation calls for the expansion of the areas occupied by small business outlets, such as cafeterias, restaurants or juice stalls. Failure to comply with the requirements would mean closure of these establishments, which in turn, would cause a number of migrant workers, mainly from Kerala, to lose their jobs.
The vigorous crackdown on irregular migrant workers currently being implemented in Qatar has pushed a number of absconding Nepalese workers to flock to their embassy in Doha to seek help in returning home. Over the past two months some 700 to 800 Nepalese irregular migrant workers have already left Qatar. According to Rajendra Panday, first secretary at the Nepalese embassy, authorities have not given a specific timeframe for irregular migrant workers to report their status to the embassy. He also explained that in many cases, it was the employers who were at fault for the visa-irregularities of their workers.
Sources: “Illegal workers seeking help has risen: Nepal mission," The Peninsula, 8 August 2005; “Qatar rules may leave Keralites jobless," India Daily, 13 August 2005