The Hindu : Kerala News : Gulf NRIs look forward to pravasi meet

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Gulf NRIs look forward to pravasi meet

By Vimala Vasan

ABU DHABI: Gulf NRIs are all set to take up their demands on a number of simmering issues following recent positive assurances by the new Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, who has also taken charge of the NoRKA Ministry.

With the announcement of dates in early January 2005 for the third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the first to be organised by the Congress-led Government, expatriates here hope that the Centre will take more serious note of the demands of Indians working in Gulf countries.

Mr. Chandy's assurance that he would urge the Centre to address the contentious issue of high air fares on the Gulf-Kerala sector and seek voting rights for NRIs has been appreciated by the expatriates in the UAE.

Issues

Y.A. Rahim, president of the Sharjah Indian Association, urged the State Government to take up quickly several issues including high air fares, removal of the tax proposal on NRE deposits, rehabilitation of Gulf returnees, reservation of college seats for NRI children, voting rights etc. All these issues had been raised with previous governments over the years. He also cited the need for a 50 per cent (and not 25 per cent as announced) slash in the existing fares for Air-India's planned budget airline if it is to prove truly economical for travellers.

Meanwhile, with the State Government-sponsored Samvayam 2004, to be held in Dubai for the first time later this year, K. V. Shamsudheen, chairman of the UAE-based Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, said that Gulf NRIs would use the platform to urge Mr. Chandy to follow the Chinese example and utilise the financial potential of expatriate Keralites to develop Kerala, by encouraging them to invest in projects in cooperation with experienced local partners.

Voting rights

NRIs here are also determined to fight for voting rights and other causes at the forthcoming Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. The fact that the Kerala-based Left parties which support the Centre are fully conversant with the issues concerning Gulf NRIs is giving the latter a hope that they will be given more importance in the event. The previous two meetings had turned out to be disappointing for the NRI representatives from the Gulf States, who complained of gross neglect by the organisers in terms of time and prominence for their speakers and the issues which they wished to bring to the notice of the Centre.

Ram Buxani, Dubai-based businessman, who attended the earlier pravasi meetings, stressed the need to minimise participation by resident Indians in the third Pravasi meet, as their overwhelming presence in the previous sessions had diluted efforts by NRIs to state their case. This is primarily a venue for NRIs to exchange notes with decision makers, and excessive local participation is reducing our time slots for meetings,_ he pointed out. He also called for quick action on issues taken up at the meeting.

NRI Institute

The recent opening of two chapters of the New Delhi-based NRI Institute in Dubai and Muscat is another shot in the arm for Gulf expatriates looking to channelise their demands to the Indian authorities.

The 15-year-old NRI Institute, a registered NGO, is an international organisation of Indians and Non-Resident Indians which highlights the achievements and problems of NRIs.

Jagmohan Singh, secretary general, who visited the UAE to prepare for the first conference of the UAE chapter on September 27, told this paper that the tremendous progress witnessed in the UAE and the growing `power factor' of Gulf-based NRIs were the prime reasons for the institute to open chapters in the Gulf in recent months. "We plan to take up issues concerning Gulf NRIs like tax on deposits, PIO cards etc., with the Indian authorities. The presence of a large number of Indian workers in the Gulf has also given rise to issues peculiar to this region which need to be addressed," he said.

With a full-fledged NRI Ministry at the Centre now, Mr. Singh hoped that the communication gap that the Gulf NRIs were complaining about would be bridged in the coming period.

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