Daijiworld Media Network –Kuwait (SB)

Kuwait, Jul 3: After living three months in nightmarish conditions, 23 of the 34 youngsters from Mangaluru who were victims of job fraud and stranded in Kuwait are set to fly back home on July 13. Some of them will fly on Jul 15 and 17. 

On Wednesday, July 3, they received air tickets and General Power of Attorney letters from concerned authorities.  

Out of the total 44 who will be travelling to India in the next batch on July 13, as many as 23 are from Mangaluru region, 15 from Andhra, 2 from Tamil Nadu and 4 from Maharashtra. 

The fates of remaining 11 will be decided later as they have some issues with the company. 8 of them have to pay some fines and 3 do not have civil IDs , as per the information available now. 

Speaking to Daijiworld over the phone from Kuwait, Abubakkar from Bajal, one of the victims, said, “On Wednesday morning we received air tickets issued by Kapico Travels and Tours, operating from Kuwait City. On July 13, we will all travel together on Jazeera Airways to Mumbai. The company which put us in trouble submitted a GP letter to Indian Embassy and up to departure we stay here under the patronage of the Embassy. We want to express our gratitude to Indian origin businessmen and sponsors in Kuwait for their generosity towards us. We also thank various associations and elected representatives for their involvement in solving the issue.” 

In the last week of May, 34 men from coastal Karnataka recorded a video appealing politicians and media to rescue them. The video which became viral has a youth explaining, how over 200 people from different parts of India were cheated by an employment agency. 

The youth in the video alleged that Prasad Shetty of Manikya Associates took Rs 65,000 from 34 people and promised them jobs in a company named Carriage. However, upon reaching Kuwait, the youth realized that the firm was a different one. 

“We have been here for six months but still we have not been given salaries. Today, the company informed us that they would stop providing us food. Our families are in poor financial condition. We do not have money and we are helpless,” the youth had said in the video. 

The other youth in the video highlighted that have not been given salary and proper food for the past five months. They said they had no money to buy food either. 

When the issue turned complicated, Manikya Associates issued a clarification stating that the agency only played role of a mediator between a Mumbai based agency and the job seekers. They also informed that they are ready to bring back the youths who cheated by the company. 

Mangaluru city (South) MLA D Vedavyasa Kamath stepped in and assured all the help in his capacity. He assured to arrange for 21 tickets. Chairman of Aditi International at Kuwait, Akash S Panwar, and another non-resident Indian, together promised to sponsor 15 tickets. Kuwait Bunts Sangha offered two tickets and another NRI, Mohandas Kamath, and his friend Binu Philip, sponsored a ticket each. 

In a latest development Indian Embassy intervened and asked the company to allow the victims to stay in their accommodations. The company agreed to do so. As per earlier reports, the company had the youths to vacate accommodation by 1 pm today.