Gulf News -- May 5 Rogue agents' racket must be broken, says Indian minister By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
Dubai: The nexus of dishonest agents extends from India to the Gulf countries, said an Indian minister yesterday. "I am quite aware of how the unskilled and semi-skilled Indian labourers are being duped by dishonest agents. The first priority is to break this racket. This can be achieved if governments of various countries work in close cooperation," said Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, at a luncheon meeting organised by the Indian Business and Professional Group (IBPG). An estimated 200 Indian businessmen and professionals attended and interacted with the minister who is on a three-day visit to the UAE. He praised the Indian consul general Yash Sinha for his efforts here. A four-page memorandum outlining issues like the need for identity cards for Gulf Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), return air tickets for stranded and destitute NRIs against the deposit given to the Immigration Department in India, and the need to launch a self-employment scheme for Gulf returnees was also presented to the minister by senior Indian businessman and social worker, Bharatbhai Shah. During his stay he will hold discussions with various UAE ministers, the Indian diaspora, various Indian organisations and the media. Ravi said that there are an estimated 400,000 Indian nationals who work as blue-collar workers in the Gulf countries. "The priority of my ministry is to find solutions to the problems faced by thousands of Indian blue collar workers. I am aware of the helplessness faced by an Indian labourer whose passport and other documents are taken away from him by unscrupulous agents the moment he gets out of the airport. I have also received feedback on the issues faced by Indian nationals by the Indian missions overseas," he said. Answering a question about Indian labourers going on the rampage, he said: "Violence of any sort is not welcomed. The Indian workforce enjoys a reputation of being peace-loving. The matter will be discussed with concerned authorities in the UAE." According to statistics provided by the minister, licences of 120 agents were cancelled in the last three years because of their bad records. There are about 4,580 registered recruiting agents in India of which 2,500 are in active business. Regarding granting voting rights to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in the Gulf, Ravi said that the Bill granting voting rights is already introduced in the Parliament. "Once the Bill gets cleared it will help NRIs to exercise their right to vote provided they are present in the country during elections," he said. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
