The Hindu : National : U.S. consulate in Hyderabad in 2008

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
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U.S. consulate in Hyderabad in 2008

R.K. Radhakrishnan

CHENNAI: The United States will have a consulate in Hyderabad and it will begin operations in 2008, said Rajkumar Chellaraj, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Administration.

"Hyderabad will have a consulate and we believe that it will be up and running sometime in 2008," he told The Hindu .

Land for consulate

Asked about reported problems in the land offered for the consulate, he said: "I think there are plans to open an interim consulate. The long-term plan is to start complete operations by 2008. We hope that will relieve some of the work load here [in Chennai]."

Mr. Chellaraj and his team in the Bureau of Administration in the United States Department of State provide administrative support for people and programmes of Washington's diplomatic efforts.

On expansion of the operations of the consulate here, he said there were periodical reviews and evaluation of posts in Washington along with representatives from the posts.

"In places like Chennai it is a challenge [to expand] because of the demand for property. We have a constant evaluation process... It [the need to expand] is constantly being studied. At some point in the future it [the expansion] will happen. In terms of timing it is difficult to say now," he said.

Mr. Chellaraj has been in the U.S. for more than three decades now.

He said he did not face any racial discrimination. He and his wife are from Madurai.

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