Modi reaches out to Indian workers who build glitzy skyscrapers in UAE

August 17, 2015

New Delhi, Aug 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited a labour camp in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to highlight New Delhi's concern about the welfare of its migrant workers helping to build glitzy skyscrapers, hotels and museums in the oil-rich Gulf state.

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PM Modi's two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates coincides with international calls to improve workers' conditions in Gulf countries, which rely on Asian labour for mega projects such as the World Expo 2020 in Dubai and the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

Some 2.6 million Indians live and work in the UAE, according to Indian embassy figures. The embassy estimates about 60 per cent of those are blue-collar workers.

About 200 workers broke into applause when PM Modi arrived at an indoor basketball court at the labour camp in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi. PM Modi chatted with the workers, enquiring about the place and their welfare and jobs, but made no comments to the media.

The Prime Minister is due to attend a public event in Dubai on Monday with some 40,000 Indian expatriates expected to attend.

"He wants to convey that the safety, security and welfare conditions for Indian workers should not be ignored," a senior Indian government official told Reuters in New Delhi.

"The Indian government is aware that the UAE will employ thousands of Indian workers to organize the World Expo 2020, but after the recent Qatar experience, the government wants to send a clear message that India will not allow rampant exploitation of its workers."

In November, India launched a campaign for higher wages for its workers in the Gulf states. Indian diplomats raised the minimum salaries they recommend because of higher living costs.

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UAE officials, including the labour minister, have said that labour legislation in the country is in line with the UAE constitution. Laws regulate the labour market, providing protection of workers and their rights, they said.

Several measures, including mid-day breaks for workers in the country's sweltering summer heat, better healthcare facilities and accommodation have been provided across the UAE. But rights groups think a lot more needs to be done.

"Lack of proper regulation by the authorities in both India and the UAE of the booming migrant-worker recruitment industry, including visa brokers, has allowed rogue recruiting agents to cause serious human rights abuses with impunity," Salil Shetty, secretary-general of Amnesty International said.

"Some welcome improvements by the UAE over the last decade have been put in serious doubt by the crackdown on labour activists and failure to carry out meaningful reform of the kafala system, further increasing the vulnerability of migrant workers to human rights abuses."

PM Modi will be seeking to engage Abu Dhabi, one of the richest sovereign wealth funds in the world, to invest in India as well as expand cooperation in the energy sector. Abu Dhabi accounts for 9 percent of India's energy needs and India wants to increase that, the official said.

"The orientation of the Gulf countries has always been towards US and Europe, but the prime minister wants to highlight the benefits of investing in India and he wants to engage Abu Dhabi on long-term projects," the official said.

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Comments

Theresa
 - 
Tuesday, 10 Jan 2017

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February 10,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 10: Two Iranian nationals have been arrested by the Karnataka police for allegedly stealing money from car showrooms by diverting cashiers’ attention in Mangaluru, Udupi and Bengaluru.

The arrested are Saeed Rostami, 26 and his friend Saber Hossein Eghbalzadeh, 35, are both residents of Tehran and in India on tourist visa. They were caught by the sleuths of Bengaluru’s RMC Yard police station.

The accused would approach the cashiers, asking for change for Rs 2000 notes to divert their attention and flee with cash from the showroom. 

The duo landed in New Delhi on January 16. Later, they arrived in coastal Karnataka before reaching Bengaluru on February 1. 

The same day around 4pm, the two visited Trident Automobile Pvt Ltd’s service centre in RMC Yard. They went to cashier Kiran and sought change for Rs 2000. One of them dropped the note and Kiran picked it up for him. Meanwhile, Kiran also noticed there was no change in his cash box and informed the duo accordingly. 

“Kiran later realised Rs 44,000 was missing from the cash box. He verified CCTV footage and found the two visitors stole the money when he bent down to pick up the Rs 2000 note,” a police officer said.

Kiran filed a theft and cheating case against the men. RMC Yard police suggested Kiran circulate the footage at other car showrooms and service centres as they had heard about similar incidents being reported from Udupi, Mangaluru and other places in Bengaluru.

“Sharing of CCTV footage helped us nab the suspects. They visited a showroom near Cauvery junction on Ballari Road on February 6. The staff noticed the duo and realised they were the same guys, who had stolen the money at RMC Yard and informed us,” said police.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Ballari, Jan 6: Two members of a family were killed in a cylinder explosion at their home in Sanjeevarayana Kote, here on Monday morning, police said.

The deceased were identified as Parvathi and her daughter Huliyamma.

The incident took place when the two were in the kitchen. Fire tenders were rushed to the rescue.

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July 18,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 18: Days after Air India operated a flight from Qatar to Mangaluru,  the Karnataka Cultural Foundation (KCF) chartered a flight from Doha to this coastal city to repatriate the stranded NRIs. The flight landed at Mangaluru International Airport on July 16.

This KCF operated flight left the Hamad International Airport Doha at 9:35 am and reached Mangaluru international Airport at 16:10 pm on Thursday. 

The flight had over 174 NRIs, included pregnant women, patients in need of urgent medical treatment, senior citizens, and those who were stuck with expired visit visa and job loss. With the timely intervention Dr Arathi Krishna has helped a patient to make his approval from embassy, who had to leave for medical treatment on emergency basis.

Starting from the registration of travellers, KCF has provided all with the necessary documental, health-related information and each of them have been met by KCF representatives along with snacks and PPE kit to be worn during the journey as a precaution against the spread of the pandemic. 

Organization workers were constantly in touch with each of its passengers, supporting them for their safety and serve them during journey and stay at the hotels and this will continue until the quarantine is completed.

KCF, the proud organization of Kannadigas has been working in the public sphere, and this initiative of charter flight and their dedication on this have been praised by travellers.

On their successful charter, KCF thanks Dr Arathi Krishna, former vice-chairman of Karnataka State NRI Forum for her extensive support on acquiring relevant documental clearances. Sindhu B Rupesh, the deputy commissioner of Mangaluru, Dr Yathish Ullal, assistant commissioner of Mangaluru, Meena Nagaraj, the nodal officer, Bengaluru, are also praised for their timely approvals and permissions for this charter.

The untiring efforts, hard works by the workers and leaders of SSF, SYS and Karnataka Muslim Jama-ath have been appreciated and background supports by Moulana Shafi Sa-adi, the member of Karnataka state Waqf Board is also remembered by KCF Qatar.

The members of KCF Qatar have been tirelessly working behind this grand success, the chairman Abdul Raheem Saadi and general convener Muneer Magundi have thanked all its members, including Embassy officials and Indigo Airlines for all cooperation.

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Shamshuddin Mohammed
 - 
Sunday, 19 Jul 2020

Mask use for covid19 they use as tie

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