With dreams of building a better life for herself and her family, Kamala (32) boarded a private sleeper class bus from Amalapuram – the district administrative headquarters of Dr. on May 12, 2025 along with her younger sister Raji (30). BR Ambedkar Konaseem – bound for Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
Along with the sisters, several other women were on board the bus, all sharing the same destination: Muscat. The group arrived at Muscat International Airport (MCT) in Oman the following evening via Mumbai.
Recalling the initial excitement of taking the first step towards their dream, Kamala said their agent in Muscat, who was also a native of Konaseema, sent a driver to pick them up from the airport. The driver identified the sisters using their photographs, collected their passports immediately after the show, and then dropped them off at the agent’s office. For the next fortnight, the sisters, along with other young women, were trained by the agent to work as “domestic servants”.
“Like us, there was another group of 13 young women, mostly from our area, who were brought by our agent with the promise of the same job – as maids,” said Kamala, a mother of two boys aged 7 and 5.
Kamala, who worked as a nurse in a private hospital, quit her job, while Raji, a transient renegade, gave up tailoring for their shared dream of flying to the Gulf, earning money and returning to build their own house in their village. Kamala and Raji, also a mother of two, live in separate rented houses with their families in the same village on the outskirts of Amalapura, part of Andhra Pradesh’s Konaseema district – the coconut country where the Godavari River flows into the Bay of Bengal.
The sisters said the opportunity arose after their husbands supported their decision and helped them find agents recruiting women to work in the Persian Gulf.
“By December 2025, nearly 15,000 unemployed workers from Dr. BR Ambedkar Konaseema District have migrated to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. More than 70% of them were young women, most of whom found employment as managers of the Ramidasema Centre, GCC. Migration (KCM).
Overwork and isolation
Kamala said her ordeal began within a fortnight of their session ending. “Once our preparation was over, we were all introduced to visitors who came to choose women of their choice to be appointed as maids. My sister Raji was the first chosen by the sponsor for a five-day trial job at his house before he offered her a full-time job,” Kamala said.
However, Kamala added, “Five days into the first task, which tested my sister’s physical endurance, Raji decided not to continue. Daunted by the work involved, she returned to India within a month.”
According to an unwritten condition observed by representatives and employers alike, the sponsor is entitled to keep the woman as a maid if she is satisfied with her work. At the same time, she can reject the offer if she is not willing to continue.
Opting to stay back, Kamala was hired by another sponsor on a two-year employment contract with a monthly salary of 100 Omani Rials (₹24,152). The sponsor obtained a “Resident Card” (issued by the Omani government) and a two-year work visa for Kamala by signing a “liability bond” as ordered.
However, in November, Kamala began suffering from repeated illnesses, allegedly due to overwork, and was also subjected to isolation. “When I complained of illness, my sponsor gave me medicine for body pain. Suspecting that I might stop, he cut off my internet access to prevent communication with my family. I had to continue working while taking the medicine,” Kamala said.
“When I asked my sponsor to return my passport, he told me that I have to pay money for my freedom. That’s when I came to know that my agent had supplied me with a commission of ₹1.5 lakh, which I had to repay to secure my freedom and get my passport. I never knew such a transaction existed between my agent and sponsor,” she said.
Migrants turn agents on the spot
This is allegedly the modus operandi of unregistered agents who recruit young women aspiring to work in the Gulf countries. The price for a maid varies depending on the length of employment, ranging from one month to two years.
Officials emphasize that victims know many of the unauthorized agents personally. Complaints reveal that job offers often come through relatives or acquaintances based in the Gulf countries. Many former migrants themselves act as agents on the ground, offering commissions to local contacts to recruit women.
Referring to the e-Migrate portal data of the Ministry of External Affairs, KCM said about 1,100 agents are registered to recruit people from Andhra Pradesh for foreign jobs. However, only in the district Dr. BR Ambedkar Konaseema has at least 165 unauthorized agents — including 30 women — active, none of whom are registered on the portal. A deposit of ₹5,000 and a registered office are the basic requirements for a permit.
KCM repatriated Kamala on 18 December 2025. The process began after her sponsor returned her passport once her family made arrangements and paid a commission of 1.5 lakh. Her monthly salary is still in sight, she said.
The Andhra Pradesh government established the KCM in Amalapuram in March 2025 after District Collector R. Mahesh Kumar urged the government to set up the center following several online appeals for the repatriation of victims from GCC countries.
KCM Manager G. Ramesh said, “Since March 2025, we have repatriated 78 victims from GCC countries. Of these, 76 are women whose families approached us to free them from the clutches of unauthorized agents. Seven bodies of workers, including two women who died due to accidents or illness, were also brought back.”
“Most of the repatriated workers reported excessive workload beyond their contracts, health problems caused by lack of rest and physical abuse. They are often abandoned by locals and local agents,” he added.
Most victims are not repatriated through Indian embassies. “We are trying to facilitate repatriation through a recruitment agent. In this model, the agent is required to return the commission to the sponsor to get the victim’s passport. This makes the process faster, otherwise the victim has to repay the commission,” said Mr. Ramesh.
Of the 76 victims repatriated since March, only two have been assisted through Indian embassies. Currently, KCM handles almost 180 complaints related to workplace fraud and abuse.
Awareness
Another victim, G. Padma, 36, a mother of two children aged 16 and 14, was repatriated on March 13, 2026. A native of Uppalaguptam mandal, she flew to Muscat in June 2023 and completed a two-year term. “My sponsor forcefully renewed my contract for another year after I approached KCM with my family. However, I was not paid for four months, during which I was also subjected to physical abuse,” she said. Padma’s husband works as an agricultural labourer.
Suma, who was repatriated from Oman, said: “I survived on one meal for almost two months in my sponsor’s house. My agent blocked my number and left me alone.”
According to Konaseema Police Special Branch, at least 48 cases have been registered against unauthorized agents in the district under the Emigration Act, 1983. Ten such cases have been filed in the past 12 months. District Superintendent of Police Rahul Meena said many repatriated victims were unwilling to take legal action against the agents.
The police are part of the KCM and help track down agents and facilitate repatriation based on complaints filed by victims’ families. According to an official release by District Collector R. Mahesh Kumar, the Protector of Emigrants (PoE) from Hyderabad has been approached to strengthen coordination with Indian embassies. PoE Officer D. Anand and his team conducted awareness programs on safe overseas recruitment practices.
Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) president Vemuru Ravi Kumar said the state government has banned recruitment of maids through private agents and mandated recruitment through OMCAP for better protection. “More than 90% of abuse complaints come from those who were not recruited through OMCAP,” he said, adding that contracts are often in Arabic, making them difficult to understand.
The increase continues amid tensions
He noted that migration from Konaseema is largely driven by economic need, with many women entering on tourist visas and later seeking work permits.
Even as agents have temporarily slowed recruitment due to the war, the Postal Passport Seva Kendra in Amalapuram is witnessing a surge in applications. Passport verification officer G. Yuga Kiran said, “We receive around 600 applications every month. More than 90% are from women who aspire to migrate to Gulf countries.”
Meanwhile, KCM continues to receive daily emergency calls from migrant workers seeking help. Although the repatriation of 11 victims, including nine women, has been delayed due to the disruption of airport operations in GCC countries due to ongoing tensions in West Asia.
(The names of the victims have been changed to protect their identities.)
