Kendrapara: Known for its master craftsmen in the field of plumbing, Kendrapada district today boasts as the biggest supplier of skilled plumbers in India. Be it the South Indian metro cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad or Chennai or North India’s Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida, plumbers belonging to Kendrapada have made a special place for themselves. Not only this, internationally also they have also done exemplary work and brought laurels for the district.
Thousands of skilled plumbers today work hard in the gulf region. There are many success stories about the plumbers of this coastal district earning decent money working outside the State. And quite paradoxical to it, there is a gloomy picture behind the success stories. There is no official record of the number of plumbers working outside and their socio-economic status. It is also very difficult to know their working conditions and the employers. A large number of plumbers face problems while working outside the State like workplace harassment, visa issues, exploitation by middlemen, inhuman working conditions and illegal migration. Ironically, these miseries often go unnoticed or unreported. In certain cases, the problem gets highlighted in the media and it is very late to intervene.
In order to address this problem, the Kendrapara district administration has taken an initiative to develop a database of plumbers working outside the State especially in foreign countries. The database will contain detailed information about the plumbers and their employers enabling the administration to provide prompt assistance and support in times of distress and need.
“Kendrapara produces the maximum number of plumbers in India. They are more than one lakh in number and are spread throughout the world, earning good money. But there is no database of them with the district administration. Nor is any database of their employers. A lot of them face problems while working such as workplace harassment, visa issues and women harassment etc”, said Kendrapara Collector Samarth Verma who has been personally looking into the development of database.
He said that the administration is preparing a database of plumbers with the help of the District Labour Officer (DLO). The Odisha Government has sanctioned a centre for plumber database creation, which will be completed by the end of this year.
The one-stop centre will be created under the district administration to facilitate and help the plumbers in getting jobs and helping them when in distress. It will also facilitate giving them various labour benefits such as medical and health insurance. Besides, a dedicated helpline will also be set up at the State Institute for Plumbing Technology (SIPT), Pattamundai to enable the plumbers to contact the administration for help, the collector added.
As per reports, more than one lakh people from Pattamundai, Aul, Rajnagar and Rajkanika blocks of Kendrapara work as plumbers in different parts of the country and abroad. They are being exploited by middlemen, contractors, builders and others at their workplaces. The database and helpline will enable them to get help at times of hardship. Meanwhile, the local plumbers have highly appreciated the decision of the district administration. With this, they will get to know about the opportunities and difficulties of going to other places for work. Especially, skilled plumbers who wish to go abroad for better prospects can use the database to know about opportunities.
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