Group of plumbers from Kendrapara district stranded in New Delhi. Telegraph picture

Kendrapara, May 5: After the Libyan civil war left them jobless, the dreams of several plumbers from this region to seek greener pastures in London have been crushed. Taken for a ride by an overseas labour placement agency, the gullible but skilled youths are now stranded in New Delhi.

“We lodged a complaint at Kirti Nagar police station in New Delhi on Tuesday. Whatever we had saved during our job in the Middle East has now gone down the drains. Each of the 20 plumbers in our group was deceived to the tune of Rs 1.20lakh. After reaching New Delhi, we found that the flight tickets and working visas given to us were fake,” one of them said.

“The district administration has taken up the matter with the state labour commissioner’s office. We are talking to Delhi so that the bogus job placement firm is taken to task,” said Kendrapara collector Pradipta Kumar Pattnaik.

“We were asked to board the London-bound flight on April 17. But after reaching here, we came to know that the flight tickets were forged ones. On further inquiry we found that the United Kingdom entry clearance visa issued by the overseas labour placement agency was also fake. We wandered around the city. Neither could we locate the bogus firm nor the labour contractor who received money from us,” said Kahu Charan Majhi, a plumber from Damarpur village in Kendrapara district’s Pattamundai police station area.

The civil war in Libya had forced the 37-year-old skilled labour to quit his lucrative job in Tripoli a couple of months ago. Through a local contact, he had paid Rs 1.20lakh to the fictitious farm in two instalments to go to London.

At least 19 others from nearby villages in Aul and Pattamundai were also duped by the placement agency.

“We had paid the money though we were aware of the fact that getting a workers’ visa in UK was difficult. But the agent built confidence in us. We fell into his trap. Apart from us, over 50 plumbers, electricians and fitters from Ganjam, Angul, Naysagarh and Khurda district have also been cheated,” said Sangram Bai, who hails from Bantapatana village under Pattamundai police area.

“I was employed in Qatar. The salary was quite attractive. But I left the job because of country’s hot climate. Now I have lost all the money that I had earned toiling hard,” said Mahendranath Sahu (28), a plumber from Singiri village in Aul block.

“We are running from pillar to post in New Delhi. Since reaching here a fortnight ago, our money has been exhausted. In a day or two, we will be left without any cash,” said Deepak Nayak, a native of Angarakhia village from Aul area.

The administration is trying its level best to assuage the plight of these skilled labourers. We are arranging free stay and food for them in the national capital till the investigation of the case is over, Kendrapara collector Pattnaik said.

Kendrapara has a track record of churning out thousands of plumbers engaged across the country. In major areas of this district, plumbing is a significant economic activity that has been providing income sources to thousands of families in this no-industry district. This trend is in vogue for generations together. Many have made their way to Gulf and Middle-East countries to work there.