Kendrapada: Six workers from the district have allegedly been held captive by their employer in a plywood factory in Chon Buri, eastern Thailand, for the past few months.The matter came to light when the workers sent a video clip from Thailand to their parents on Tuesday, alleging physical and mental torture.“We had gone to Thailand in Aug 2025 through a labour contractor, who assured us good jobs with handsome salary. We were engaged in a plywood factory and initially we managed to send money back home. But it all stopped three months back and instead of an 8-hour shift, we are being made to slog 12-14 hours a day without any salary,” said Prasant Rout (28) of Upalei village, one of the workers stranded in Thailand.“We are given food only once a day and beaten up if we demand more food,” Rout said, adding that their passports have also been confiscated by the owner.“Our families are worried back home. We just want the govt to arrange a flight for us to leave Thailand. All our earnings are exhausted and getting through each day is an ordeal,” rued Jayant Mallick (29) of Nuagaon village in the video.Their parents met officials of the labour department and others on Tuesday and appealed to them to rescue their children. They said that each of the men had paid Rs 2 lakh as transportation cost and agents had promised them a salary of Rs 50,000 per month.When contacted, Ananta Padmanava Mahamansingh, the divisional labour officer, Kendrapada, said, “We have informed the state labour department to take proper action to help the workers to return to their villages.”It is a ruse used by many agents to lure youths to foreign countries by promising them more money. We had previously warned job-seekers not to fall prey to bogus adverts in newspapers offering work abroad.”
