"Despair in search of livelihood: the saga of the Telangana Gulf migration", 10 May 2019

[Indian state] Telangana is rife with fraudulent travel agents who promise an easy path to the Gulf... "Necessities and lack of awareness about the countries and nature of the work often lands the migrants in trouble. Fake travel agents dupe job seekers by claiming that they're being issued a work visa, when they are actually issued travel visas, in order to be trapped by their employer once they land," [said Srinu Janagam, Vice President of Indian People’s Forum]... The Telangana government has started the Telangana Overseas Manpower Company Ltd (TOMCOM)... to prevent fake travel agents and frauds and to ensure safe migration... [yet] only 117 people who are currently living in Gulf countries are registered with them. According to eMigrate, an initiative of the Overseas Employment Division of MEA, there 15 illegal recruitment agents in Telangana and 507 in the entire country.