20 Telangana workers trapped in Iraq, plead to be rescued

20 workers from Telangana who are trapped in Basra, Iran are pleading to be rescued. The Embassy of India in Baghdad and the secretary at the external affairs ministry have been approached by the General Administration (NRI) department of the Telangana government to rescue them.

The workers in a video message revealed that an illegal job agent in Telangana cheated them and collected 1.5 lakh from each worker. Once they reached Basra, the workers were allegedly made to work for 12 hours at a stretch and sometimes day and night. Also, they were being provided stale food and were being exploited.

Workers Enakasu Thirupathi and P Srinivas said in the video, "When we said we want to leave, the employer asked us to pay 2,600 dollars each.”

General Administration (NRI) department on Saturday has written to the Embassy of India in Baghdad providing them a list of 20 names including the passport numbers to rescue them. The letter mentioned that the agent who sent them to Iraq had cheated them and handed them over to a different company, instead of the one in which they were promised employment. Also, the workers’ passports were also taken away by the employer due to which they are unable to return.