![KTR bats for policy to support Gulf workers KTR bats for policy to support Gulf workers](https://www.thehindu.com/theme/images/th-online/1x1_spacer.png)
BRS leader K.T. Rama Rao with former TSPSC chairman Ghanta Chakrapani and others at a book release in Hyderabad on Sunday.
There is a need for policy support for the welfare of those migrating from Telangana to Gulf countries for better livelihoods as they are highly exploited by middlemen and employers, said Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao.
Speaking after releasing Meka Bathuku (Life of a Goat), a book authored by Swarna Kilari on the life of Gulf workers, here on Sunday, he said he had visited Dubai and witnessed the miseries of migrant workers, particularly those from Telangana, in labour camps. The conditions they live in would make heavy the hearts of even those who visit them.
The previous BRS government had tried to bring a policy for Gulf workers and made some efforts through TOMCOM (Telangana Overseas Manpower Company) Ltd., but there was a need to do more and bring a policy. “Whether it’s Dubai or Hyderabad or any other city in India and outside, the exploitation of migrant workers persists, though it may vary from place to place,” he said.
Saying that he had met migrant workers from Pedduru in Telangana in jail during his Dubai visit, he said sustained efforts were made to free them and, at last, brought them back to India. Efforts were made to prevent women trafficking to the Gulf countries when the late Sushma Swaraj was the External Affairs Minister, but it did not go forward much.
Hailing the efforts of the author and the publishers to bring out a book when reading habit is declining in society, he suggested that they attract more readers to the book by releasing its digital and audio forms.