Employees of a sanitation company, they say that at the time of the fire, they had been at the lodge along with more than 100 Nepalis.

Presently taking shelter in a cleared patch of a jungle, one of the Sri Lankans Mohamed Hanif said they had to endure temperatures of 45 centigrade, as they do not have an air-conditioner.

Their camp is power by a generator, and it does not have fire safety either, because when it is switched on, there is a short circuit, he said.

Another Lankan D.M. Seneviratne said their employer has not been kind enough at least to provide them with a bottle of water, and it was the other Sri Lankans in Qatar who had helped them.

Neither there was any help coming from the Sri Lankan ambassador and embassy staff, he said.

According to Mohamed Rifkan, this was the third occasion a fire had gutted their lodge.

Their request is that they be paid compensation, the salaries and bonus and sent home.

Rifkan said so far there has been no insurance or health card coverage for them from their employer.

When BBC Sandeshaya tried to contact ambassador Jayantha Palipana, it had been told the ambassador was busy.