Now Saudi women may drive thousands of NRI drivers out of the kingdom

coastaldigest.com news network
September 30, 2017

King Salman’s recent decree that grants driving licenses to women in Saudi Arabia may snuff out the livelihoods of tens of thousands of NRI ‘house drivers,’ including those from Karnataka and Kerala. The royal order will officially come into force from Shawwal 10, 1439, corresponding to June 24, 2018.

Even though the international media hailed the decree as a great “social reform”, for the Saudi government, this is mere a continuation of Saudization. When women are at the wheel, it means the majority of Saudi households will no longer need chauffeurs to drive women to shops, workplaces, colleges and schools.

So far women in Saudi had to depend on chauffeurs and taxi drivers. Better-off Saudi households employ permanent house drivers who take homemakers to shopping malls, girl students to universities and schools and working women to their offices. Working women spend a sizeable chunk of their salaries on chauffeurs.

‘House driver visa’ hitherto was one of the easiest and cheapest for the uneducated Gulf job aspirants in India. Though the salary was not very attractive, the main attraction of ‘house driver’ was the free board and lodging, plus, the generous tips from the employer’s household.

There are nearly 14 lakh chauffeurs and taxi drivers in Saudi Arabia. The huge majority of them are from India. At a time when hundreds of Indian workers are returning home every week in the wake of the Saudi government’s nationalisation of the labour force, the new reform will accelerate the job loss of drivers.

Another fallout of the reform is that more and more educated Saudi women will join the white-collar work force, replacing expatriate employees, executives and professionals. There is a large army of highly educated women in Saudi Arabia, where women are better educated than men. Self-driven cars would make their job entry easier. And, as the Saudi women drive into the workplace, a section of the expatriate workers will be driven out.

Comments

Mohan
 - 
Saturday, 30 Sep 2017

Read properly. It means that women get driving license and they can drive alone. Only thats it. It not about they are taking that job instead of current drivers

Yogesh
 - 
Saturday, 30 Sep 2017

LOL... Their husbands wont allow to wear modern dress, Still you people believe that because of them, THOUSANDS OF NRI DRIVERS will be jobless...! Govt allowed but will see how many are ready for this

Unknown
 - 
Saturday, 30 Sep 2017

Total rubbish. NRI's are experts. These ladies cant replace them. 

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News Network
July 4,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 4: A young woman doctor at the Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences, Bengaluru, who had raised an alarm about faulty PPE kits and shortage of N95 masks, has tested positive for the covid-19.

Taking note of this, Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha brought the issue to the attention on Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Twitter. Tagging the minister, the MP tweeted, “For your information and I feel, it is a genuine concern.” “Amulya Gowda treated Covid patients at KIMS.

Karnataka Medical Association took to social media to express concern over the development. In a Facebook post it wrote: "Amulya C Gowda is a frontline worker who risks her life every single day. Last week she raised an alarm about faulty PPE kits and shortage of N-95 masks. But the Administrative Medical Officer (AMO) at KIMS, shunned and chastised her for raising this issue. Ever since, she has been buying her own N-95 masks. Today, she tested positive for Covid-19 and appealed to the Hospital authorities and raised her genuine concerns over the faulty protective gear, but she was again harassed and humiliated for raising the issue."

Dr DH Ashwath Narayana, Medical Superintendent, KIMS Hospital, said that all PPE kits at KIMS were certified by SITRA (South India Textiles Research Association), Coimbatore and that they had purchased N-95 masks available in the market. "One cannot claim faulty PPEs are the reason for testing positive. We have purchased whatever PPE kits are available in the market. Healthcare workers across hospitals, private and government, and policemen are also getting infected."

As the new rules by the state government allow healthcare workers home isolation, Narayana said the doctor is recuperating at home and that she is doing fine.

Medical education minister Dr K Sudhakar tweeted, "Doctors are our frontline warriors battling the pandemic. Government has taken all necessary measures to ensure safety of our doctors. I have taken note of supply of defective masks and PPE kits to KIMS doctors and ordered an enquiry. Management will be held responsible if found guilty."

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News Network
April 1,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 1: The state government has identified five districts, including Dakshina Kannada, as 'cluster zones' or 'Red zones,' to prevent the spread of Novel Coronavirus.

The other four districts include Mysuru, Uttara Kannada, Bengaluru and Chikkaballapur.

Mangaluru has been under strict lockdown, as it is close to Kasargod in Kerala, which reported many positive cases and is also one of the 'hotspots' in the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) list.

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 16,2020

Mangaluru, June 16: A youth has been arrested by the sleuths of Ullal police station on charge of sexually assaulting a minor girl and impregnating her on the outskirts of the city. 

The arrested has been identified as Lavakumar alias Shravan, a resident of Valacchil, who was working in a fast-food outlet at Thokkottu. 

According to the police, the accused had sexually assaulted his owner’s minor daughter. The incident came to light when the girl’s mother came to know that former was pregnant.

It is said that the girl’s mother, who had employed the accused, allowed him to stay in their house. The accused befriended the minor girl and sexually used her.

Based on a complaint filed by the girl’s mother, a case was registered at Ullal police station under Pocso Act. The police arrested him yesterday and produced him before a local court.

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