The Pre-Departure Orientation and Training Centres (PDOT) set up in seven districts of Tamil Nadu will begin operations in January 2024, Deputy Director of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-resident Tamils K. Ramesh said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the National Consultation on Crime against Women Migrant Workers held here, he said the centres in Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai, Kanniyakumari, Thanjavur, Perambalur, Sivaganga, and Villupuram would help the migrants understand the culture, language, local laws, and weather conditions, among others, of the destination country so that they can settle down easily.
“The people can also come to the centres to find out whether their visas, which are given by agents, are real so that they are not scammed. They can also register their names and occupation at the destination country...,” said an official. The seminar was jointly organised by the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women (TNSCW), the Tamil Nadu Domestic Workers Welfare Trust (TNDWWT), and the Migrant Forum in Asia to discuss ways for the Union and State governments to help women migrant workers, specifically in the Arab countries, as they face a lot of exploitation.
The next Tamil Nadu Migration Survey will begin in 2024, said Dr. Bernard D’Sami, LISTAR, Loyola College, Chennai. Comparing the recent trends with those of the last survey conducted in 2015, he said migration from Tamil Nadu and Kerala was reducing, but migrants from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan were slowly increasing. The reason for migration was purely economical. He attributed the reasons for the dip in Kerala to the population decline and many people choosing to have only a single child.
Citing the 2015 survey, he said the Gulf countries were in fact the second place where Indians go for work and the first destination was Singapore. TNDWWT chief functionary Valarmathi; TNSCW chairperson A.S Kumari; SHRC chairperson Justice S. Bhaskaran; and Minister for the Welfare of Minorities and Non-Resident Tamils Gingee K. S. Masthan were present at the event.
