Kendrapara: In hope of permanent and better earnings, people from different pockets of this district head to foreign countries including Malaysia, UAE and other Gulf countries after being lured by brokers.
However, the workers are taken on a tourist visa and made to work under extreme conditions. After their tourist visa expires, they end up in jails and get prosecuted by the immigration officials.
It has been a common practice for middlemen to take labourers to other countries. Reportedly, the labourers are not told about the visa and their nature of work. They are promised good jobs but are forced to work as labourers and made to do other petty jobs.
Moreover, the labourers, many of them obviously not well educated, find them in great trouble when their visas are declared expired.
Meanwhile, family members of a migrant worker- Ashok Mallick, son of Kailash Mallick of Badanka village under Aul block, are a worried lot after the former was jailed for overstaying after his visa expired.
On the other hand, 12 others of the same village will soon face the same plight as their visa is soon to expire November 24. The labourers feared they might also land up in jail if no steps are taken to extend their visa.
They cannot even turn back before the visa expires as the employer had held their passports and not paid their salary.
As per family members, a middleman from Kolkata lured the youths to Malaysia. Unaware of his evil intention, 12 youths of the same village went to Malaysia August, 2019. They weren’t informed that they were being taken on tourist visas. However, now the employers are not giving their passport.
Worried family members demanded the administration take necessary steps to rescue the youths before they are jailed by Malaysia immigration authorities.
“We request the labour department to rescue our boys before their visas expire,” sarpanch Batakrushna Sethy and social worker Pradipt Sahu requested the District Collector.
It may be noted here that Khetrabasi Sahu (29) of Baburampatana village has been untraceable in Malaysia for a month. His parents have not been able to contact him who had gone to Malaysia September 2 with the help of Kolkata-based KK Group of Companies’ sales manager Wasim Khan after signing an agreement to work as a labourer.
“A call came to my nephew’s mobile at around 6.30 am October 29. The unknown person said that my son was in trouble. The company does not provide food to my son and is forcing him to work as a bonded labourer. Khetrabashis’s life is in danger. The caller asked us to take steps to save the life of my son. He said otherwise the company would kill my son,” said Kulamani Sahu, the father of Khetrabashi.
The caller said he managed to escape from the clutches of the company and telephoned them. After getting this information from the unknown caller, Kulamani made an attempt to know the whereabouts of his son and phoned the Kolkata-based company but in vain.
Meanwhile, the parents are sick with worry. Kulamani called the other men who had gone with his son to Malaysia. They said they had fled from the workplace and were hiding. They said the police have arrested his son as he was working in Malaysia on a tourist visa. When Khetrabashi reached Malaysia, the company reportedly seized his passport and other documents.
Kulamani said the validity of his son’s tourist visa will end November 24. He wondered why the police had arrested his son as he had a valid tourist visa.
The parents have approached the Collector and SP of Kendrapara as well as the labour department and also sent letters requesting the state government, the PM, the External Affairs Minister and the Indian Embassy in Malaysia to help repatriate their son.
District labour officer Kalpana Mishra said she had received the complaint and steps have been taken by the administration to find Khetrabashi and bring him back from Malaysia.
Meanwhile, the Collector has written a letter to the State Labour Commission to take steps to bring back Khetrabashi.
PNN
