32 labourers from AP, Odisha stuck in Maldives after job loss

VISHAKHAPATNAM: A group of 32 labourers from AP and Odisha got stuck in the Maldives after they lost their jobs there. They   contacted their relatives to say they were without money and food for the past several days.

Stating this on Sunday, the district collector of Srikakulam Srikar Lathakar said, "Efforts are under way for their safe return to their homes."

It is learnt that they were sent to the Maldives on work permit in April last year by an agency called Bhavana Institute, located in Porna Market here. Some of the relatives approached the AP Non Resident Telugu Society, which in turn contacted the Indian High Commission in Maldives for the stranded labourers’ safe evacuation.

“On a request from the Indian High Commission and the AP NRT, the government in the Maldives has assured us that they would be sent back to India by the end of this month,’’ said the district collector.

Reports said 25 of the stranded labourers belonged to Srikakulam district and four to West Godavari while three were from Odisha. "Some persons from Ichapuram and Vajrapukotturu were among the stranded. Their relatives got in touch with the fisheries minister Dr Seedari Appala Raju," the collector said.

It is learnt that three persons -- Sankar, Subhash Raul from Ichapuram and Siva from Pundi -- acted as agents and collected `1 lakh each from the 32 workers. They were sent to a company called Javsa Construction Pvt Ltd. The company employed them till October last year and then it told them to look for other job opportunities there. The company did not pay them the wages after October.

“As the situation turned grim, the workers contacted their relatives in Ichchapuram and Srikakulam town. They approached the APNRT Society, which sent a mail to the Indian High Commission on Dec 22. The Society got a reply on Dec 27. The external affairs ministry is aware of the situation,”  the collector said.

The Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRT Society), a fully-owned entity of the state government, was established in 2016.