Gulf NRI issues dominate Pravasi meet

January 8, 2013

Kochi, Jan 7: Grievances of the NRIs from the Gulf countries dominated the first day of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the 11th edition of which was inaugurated in Kochi on Monday.

Delegates from the Indian diaspora from the Gulf countries put forth their grievances before Union overseas affairs minister Vayalar Ravi, who chaired the seminar on “NRIs in Gulf”, explaining the problems they face in travelling during vacations and festive occasions.

Targeting the national carrier Air India and its budget arm Air India Express, the delegates said airlines are not only fleecing them, but also behave inhospitable towards them.

pravasi

While foreign airlines stick to their schedule and ferry passengers on time, Air India and Air India Express miss their schedule by several hours, causing untold misery to passengers, delegates said.

“When the airlines land in unscheduled destinations for technical reasons, they do not provide alternative arrangements to take the passengers to their destinations,” said one delegate.

“This leads to clashes between passengers and crew as it happened in Thiruvananthapuram recently. Passengers cannot be blamed for taking extreme forms of protests in such instances.”  Many delegates from north India, especially from Punjab, demanded more Air India Express services to the north Indian destinations.

Delegates also revealed their dissatisfaction over embassy services in the Gulf, which they say can be humane especially towards workers.

As jobs dry up in many foreign destinations due to efforts by local governments in recruiting locals, diaspora representatives demanded substantial rehabilitation packages for the NRIs. They also demanded action from the government to release Indians languishing in foreign jails.

Admitting that only a few of their problems have been addressed so far, Vayalar Ravi assured them that their complaints will be presented to the Union cabinet and to the Prime Minister and steps will be taken to solve them.

Delivering the keynote address, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said his government will go ahead with the Air Kerala project to ease the travel woes of Keralites working in the Gulf.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will formally inaugurate the event on Tuesday, while President Pranab Mukherjee will address the delegates on Wednesday.

The event will feature seminars attended by many persons of prominence including Planning Commission vice-chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Former New Zealand Governor General Anand Satyanad, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Advisor to PM Sam Pitroda.

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News Network
May 3,2024

Mangaluru, May 3: The Mangaluru City Corporation will resort to water rationing from May 5 as the Thumbe vented dam, which supplies drinking water to the city, is facing a shortage in water storage.

Instead of daily supply, water will be supplied on alternate days, the Executive Engineer (Water Supply) at the corporation said in a release.

The release said that water will be supplied to Mangaluru City North on May 5. There will be no water supply to Mangaluru City North on May 6. Instead water will be supplied to Mangaluru City South on May 6. Likewise the supply on alternate days will continue.

The inflow in the Netravathi has stopped, the release said, requesting people to cooperate with the corporation and not waste water for washing vehicles and other purposes.

An engineer at the corporation said that water level at the dam stood at 4.27 m on Wednesday against the full storage level of 6 m. If water is supplied daily to the entire city (Mangaluru City North and Mangaluru City South) the existing storage will last only for 16 days, the engineer said. Hence the decision to supply water on alternate days has been taken to supply water till May-end.

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News Network
May 4,2024

Mangaluru, May 4: The Mangaluru International Airport was besieged with a harrowing message of terror recently, when an email, purportedly from malevolent elements, menacingly declared the planting of bombs within the airport premises. 

Addressed to the office of the airport authority, the missive, steeped in ominous overtones, bore the ominous signature of a terrorist faction, ominously named 'Terrorizers 111'.

The communication, disseminated in English, ominously detailed the clandestine emplacement of explosives in areas eluding facile detection, accompanied by a chilling warning of their imminent detonation. The threat, ominously looming over not only the infrastructure but also the airborne vessels, portended a catastrophic deluge of bloodshed and loss.

In response to this dire communiqué, airport authorities swiftly engaged the apparatus of law enforcement, dispatching urgent alerts to the vigilant guardians of public safety. Acting upon the dictates of higher echelons, a formal dossier of this menacing correspondence was meticulously compiled, cloaked in the veil of confidentiality to thwart any premature dissemination.

Mangaluru International Airport found itself in grim camaraderie with more than 30 counterparts under the aegis of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and private domains, all recipients of this chilling electronic diatribe. A comprehensive net of precautionary measures was swiftly cast, fortifying the bastions of security in anticipation of any nefarious designs lurking within the shadows.

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News Network
May 4,2024

somasundar.jpg

Mangaluru, May 4: A tragic incident unfurled last evening in Subrahmanya of Kadaba taluk in Dakshina Kananda, where a young gentleman, who had recently entered the bonds of matrimony a mere ten days hence, met his untimely demise due to a lightning strike.

As twilight descended, a tempestuous thunderstorm, accompanied by billowing rain clouds, cast its shadow over the locale.

Somasundar was diligently engaged in the task of piling up dried nuts in the yard to shield them from the impending deluge, when fate cruelly intervened, subjecting him to the fatal force of a lightning bolt.

Despite the expeditious efforts to convey him to Kadaba Community Hospital subsequent to his sudden indisposition, he tragically succumbed to his injuries. 

Somasundar, who operated a car washing enterprise in proximity to Subrahmanya, is mourned by his mother, sister, and wife.

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