Riyadh: NRI from Bhatkal in coma for 9 months; hospital bill 5 lakh riyals

[email protected] (CD Network)
January 20, 2017

Bhatkal, Jan 20: A Kannadiga expatriate working with a courier company in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been lying comatose in the Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Riyadh for nine months following a road accident, even as his family's efforts to bring him back to India have been stymied by the bill for treatment of about 5 lakh Saudi riyals.

1bhatkalMakde Abubakar, 40, from Shirur, near Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district, was hit by a speeding car while crossing the road. He was rushed to hospital and the driver fled the scene.

Since then, Abubakar has been speechless. His wife and four children, all less than 16 years, have been waiting patiently. "We have tried everything. We have to pay a huge sum of money to get him back but and we just don't have that kind of money.

His eldest son is with me in Bhatkal, my daughter keeps visiting me in anticipation of good news but I'm helpless," Abubakar's father-in-law Muhammed Ali said.

The family has been in constant touch with the Bhatkal Muslim Jamat in Riyadh, whose efforts too have been futile.

"Abubakar's sponsor was not in Riyadh when the accident happened and in Saudi Arabia, all documents of migrant workers need the sponsor's signature. In his absence, the hospital admitted him and Abu's relatives didn't understand the process," Dr Zaheer Kola, general secretary, Bhatkal Jamat, said.

He said the first three months passed with the family praying for his recovery. "Later, when they wanted to move him to India, the hospital said they had to clear bills of about 3.5 lakh riyals which they couldn't afford to pay. Now, the bill has gone up to about 5 lakh riyals," he said, adding that the hospital is just following its rules.

The Jamat gave representations to the Indian embassy . "While it received our file, there has been no action. The official first told us he would move the file on priority but even after 15 days, there's still no response," Kola said.

As a last resort, the family has got in touch with minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj, who has promised the family the MEA would intervene and sought details of Abubakar to be provided to the embassy in Saudi. She tweeted: `Pl ensure that he gets good treatment in the hospital' and tagged the Indian embassy in Riyadh.

With Thursday being a half-day and Friday and Saturday holidays, the Jamat will resubmit Abubakar's file to the embassy on Sunday . "We hope they let him come back," Ali said.

Comments

Muhibullah Sheikji
 - 
Sunday, 22 Jan 2017

This is really a sad news. Let us pray and hope that Allah will bless Janab Abubaker and his family. Let us pray with Allah to get all the issues solved and he be shifted to his family soon. May Allah bless Janab Abubaker with recovery and good heath.... aameen

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coastaldigest.com news network
January 22,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 22: Eminent industrialist Dr Mohammed Yusuf has been elected the chairperson of the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf. 

10 members of the Board cast their votes in the election held to the top post today at its office in the city. While Dr Yusuf, who was backed by the Congress, secured six votes, K N M Shafi Sa’adi, who was backed by the BJP, secured only 4 votes.

Addressing reporters, Dr Yusuf said that there was 1.32 lakh acres of Wakf land at the time of Independence. A large number of the properties were lost under various laws, including the Inam Land Abolition Act.

Flanked by Congress MLA Tanveer Sait and Minorities Welfare Dept secretary A B Ibrahim, Dr Yusuf vowed to strive hard to make the Board an example for the entire country. 

74-year-old Dr Yusuf had held the post more than once in the past. A veterinarian, Dr Yusuf had quit the government job and set up business in Bengaluru and Dubai decades ago and has earned considerable success.

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News Network
February 23,2020

Mysuru, Feb 23: A Quarantine station for rescued wild animals for rehabilitation will soon come up at Chamundi Animal Conservation, Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre at Koorgalli, an independent facility developed by the Mysuru Zoo on the outskirts of the City of Palaces and it complies with the recommended quarantine procedures followed globally by Zoological gardens.

The work on the construction was expected to start soon as the tender process had been under progress.

The Zoo was using its own funds to develop the facility for multiple animal species and to ensure that no infections from the wild animals were spread to the healthy animals already in captivity since many years.

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News Network
July 12,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 12: Karnataka on Sunday registered 71 COVID-19 deaths, its highest single day count, and 2,627 fresh cases, pushing the tally of infections in the state to 38,843, the health department said.

The total positive cases include 22,746 active cases and 15,409 discharges, the department said in its daily bulletin.

The total active cases include 532 people admitted in the ICUs across the state.

Of the 71 fatalities, a record 45 were reported in Bengaluru alone including the death of 16 day-old baby girl and 17-year-old girl with chronic kidney disease, taking the total mortalities in the city to 274.

Among the districts, where new cases were reported, Bengaluru urban accounted for 1,525 cases, followed by Dakshina Kannada with 196, Dharwad 129, Yadagiri 120, and 19 in Bengaluru Rural.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 8.39 lakh samples have been tested including 20,050 on Sunday alone, of which 7.80 lakh tested negative.

Other than Bengaluru, five fatalities were reported in Dakshina Kannada, three each in Mysuru, Hassan, Davangere and Belagavi, two each in Haveri and Bagalkote and one each in Dharwad, Koppal, Tumakuru, Vijayapura and Chamarajanagar.

While majority of those who died of coronavirus suffered from Severe Acute Respiratory Illness and Influenza Like Illness, significantly 21 victims did not have any pre-medical conditions while eight were the asymptomatic patients with pre-medical conditions.

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