Kasaragod: Undocumented expat worker returns from Bahrain after 38 years

[email protected] (CD Network)
January 10, 2016

Kasaragod, Jan 10: Nearly four decades after he left Kasaragod and landed in Gulf, he could not return home till last week. 54-year-old Alambadu Balakrishnan who spent 38 years in Bahrain as an undocumented migrant worker returned home last Saturday under a six-month public amnesty for undocumented workers in Bahrain that ended on December 31, 2015.

balakrishnaBalakrishnan, who has been doing mundane jobs, did not go home even once as he was stuck without a passport and suffered from depression following the death of his mother and brother in the past.

Alambadu Balakrishnan, who hails from Kanjangadu, Madikkai in Kasargod, Kerala, was brought to Bahrain by his elder brother Kannan, who later fell sick due to cancer and returned home for treatment. His younger brother Kelu, too was in Bahrain, but he lost his job, leaving the responsibility of repatriating him to Balakrishnan.

“He used to send money to his mother till her death three years ago. When his friends visited Kerala, he used to send blankets and other gifts for his mother. He spoke for about one hour when his mother died and after three hours, he got another phone call informing about the death of his elder brother,” a Malayalam language has reported.

Balakrishnan’s ambition on returning home is to build a house and if anyone is ready to be his life partner at this age, he wishes to get married.

Over 42,000 expatriate workers in Bahrain benefited from the six-month general amnesty for workers staying in Bahrain illegally, the CEO of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority Ausamah Abdullah Al Absi has said. Bangladeshis, Indians and Pakistanis were the most beneficiaries of the amnesty.

Comments

Mohan
 - 
Sunday, 10 Jan 2016

we should blame our country for this injustice act,

jeevan
 - 
Sunday, 10 Jan 2016

lucky man finally get to his country

Mehaboob khan
 - 
Sunday, 10 Jan 2016

we should be thankful to saudi govt.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
July 2,2020

When the black and white photos of the ‘London to Calcutta (Kolkata) bus service’ went viral on social media recently, the response of some of the netizens was “stop spreading fake news!” But, it isn’t a fake news. The late 1950s indeed offered people a lavish bus trip from London to Kolkata. 

While one of the viral images shows passengers at the Victoria Coach Station, London, boarding 'Albert', the other image show the same bus travelling through a valley. In another image the bus is stationed at a tourist spot. All these photos were captured during the bus’ maiden international journey in 1957.  

An image of the bus ticket is also making rounds on social media, that shows the route of the bus — London, Belgium, West Germany, Austria,Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, West Pakistan, India. The route in India followed Delhi, Agra, Allahabad, Banaras and finally Calcutta.

The ticket shows that a one side travel cost 145 pounds (13,644 Rupees at the present day) back then, and it was inclusive of all the luxury provided during the run.

The luxurious bus provided the facilities of reading, individual sleeping bunks, radio/taped music for parties and pleasure and fan heaters, among other things. The brochure reads, "Your complete home while you travel."

Some of the tour highlights included Banaras on the Ganges, The Taj Mahal, The Raj Path, The Rhine Valley and The Peacock Throne. Passengers reportedly got free shopping days in New Delhi, Tehran, Salzburg, Kabul, Istanbul and Vienna.

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News Network
July 31,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 31: An ambulance driver was thrashed by the family members of a 75-year-old COVID-19 patient who passed away on his way to the hospital in Bengaluru on Thursday.

The incident happened after the patient died in the ambulance while waiting in front of the MS Ramaiah Hospital in Bengaluru.

The driver was dragged out of the ambulance and chased around by a relative.

His clothes were ripped off and harangue were hurled at him. The relative was seen shouting and blaming the driver for the patient's death.

Speaking to news agency, the driver said that he was unable to explain the sequence of the protocol which was to be followed while getting the patient to the treatment ward.

Karnataka is one of the worst-affected states by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the state has 67,456 active cases as of Friday.

The state government has been struggling to contain the spread of the disease as it has intermittently imposed and eased lockdown measures, especially in the capital Bengaluru.

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coastaldigest.com news network
March 25,2020

Mangaluru, Mar 25: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has so far given nod to three private laboratories in Karnataka for testing COVID-19. The ICMR comes under the Department of Health, Government of India

The three labs are KMC Hospital Manipal, Shankar Research Centre's laboratory, and SRL laboratory on Bowring Hospital Road at Shivajinagar, Bengaluru.

Eight private labs from Maharashtra, two from Haryana, three from Tamil Nadu, four from Delhi, and three each from Karnataka and Gujarat have been given permission. 

These labs have over 15,000 collection centres all over the country. Blood samples and throat swabs of coronavirus suspects can be given at these centres.

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