Global diaspora meeting begins

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has urged the Indian community groups to help the southern Indian state to repatriate hundreds of its workers languishing in Gulf jails. Inaugurating the two-day global Non-Resident Keralites (NRK) meeting here on Thursday, he said the diaspora bodies should turn their attention to social activities and assured them that the state government would extend all possible help.“The state government has a lot of limitations in making critical interventions since we do not have any mechanism at our disposal there. But I should admit that if we could not provide you with equal opportunities and take care of your needs, that is my government’s failure,” he told the delegates, almost all of them from the GCC countries.According to the figures released by the country’s Overseas Indian Affairs (OIA) ministry in parliament recently, there are some 1400 Indians in Saudi Arabian jails alone not being able to come out after their prison term ended. The delegates say the Indian diplomatic missions there are least bothered about their plight and they often refuse to issue “out-passes” to people without passports.“A lot of women, mostly housemaids, are being cheated by the fly-by-night recruiters and they end up in distress. Similarly, several people with terminal illness are stranded there without money to buy their tickets. We should find a way to bring them back,” the chief minister said.Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (Norka) Minister KC Joseph who presided over the inaugural ceremony said a lot of workers with international exposure were returning to the state and while rehabilitating them, their expertise could be utilised and it should be turned into an opportunity for the state.Industry Minister PK Kunhalikutty said the state had turned its focus from the “chimney industries” to nonpolluting sunrise industries like software, biotech and nanotechnology and urged the NRKs to put their money in profitable ventures.Finance Minister KM Mani said nearly Rs500 billion sent from overseas are lying in the Kerala banks, which should be utilised properly, ensuring decent returns for the NRKs.Ports and Airports Minister K. Babu urged the NRKs to act as ambassadors of “Emerging Kerala.”Prominent NRI businessman Yusuffali MA, who is also vice-chairman of the Norka-Roots, the implementation agency of the Norka department, said NRKs were interested in investing if good returns could be ensured like the Cochin International Airport Limited, which runs India’s first corporate airport.But the state needs to improve its roads and ensure quality power and potable water.“People are investing earnings of their lifetime and they need to get proper returns from the second year itself since they don’t have any other source of income. Otherwise you can sign en number of MoUs and forget it,” he quipped. Doha-based Norka-Roots director CK Menon, who announced a new venture for overseas Keralites along with Yusuffali, said there were no threats of large scale return migration “at least for another 100 years.” He said the OIA ministry is pretending to be asleep, taking no effort to address the community’s problems.Addressing the meeting, Planning Board chief KM Chandrasekhar urged NRKs to act as an engine of rapid growth making use of their knowledge and experience.