Non-Resident Kannadigas seek government support, separate ministry for their welfare
The delegation was invited by Legislative Assembly Speaker UT Khader to Vidhan Soudha
Bengaluru: A delegation of non-resident Kannadigas from over 15 countries has appealed to the state government for financial aid and the establishment of a dedicated ministry to address their concerns. The delegation, invited by Legislative Assembly Speaker UT Khader, met with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Vidhana Soudha to submit their requests.
Led by Dr. Aarti Krishna, Vice Chairman of the State Government NRI Cell, the delegation included members from the USA, Canada, Australia, UAE, Qatar, Dubai, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. They urged the government to allocate Rs 100 crore for the welfare of non-resident Kannadigas and proposed the creation of a separate ministry to address their unique challenges.
The NRI Cell had been inactive for the past five years, leaving non-resident Kannadiga workers without support. Dr. Aarti Krishna emphasized the need to revitalize the cell for the career development of Kannadigas working abroad.
The delegation highlighted various problems faced by non-resident Kannadigas and requested immediate financial assistance of Rs 100 crore. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah responded positively to their request and agreed to establish a separate ministry for NRIs in the state, following the Kerala model.
Among the specific demands were the establishment of a center for the study of Kannada, culture, heritage, and a research center for Indian students in Bahrain, along with skill development facilities to create job opportunities for Karnataka youth in Gulf countries.
Amarnath Rai, President of Bahrain Kannada Sangh, stressed the difficulties faced by laborers trying to transport the remains of deceased family members back to Karnataka. He called for the formation of a high-level committee to address the concerns of non-residents.
The delegation included representatives from various countries, such as Muhammad Mansoor from Bahrain, Ramanand Prabhu from Muscat, Advocate Ibrahim Khalil from UAE, Hidayat Addur from Dubai, and others.
In response, the government promised to establish a separate ministry for NRIs and address the challenges faced by non-resident Kannadigas during the lockdown.
“Non-resident Kannadigas students and workers faced hardship in many ways during the lockdown. But in the coming days any non-resident Kannadigas should be able to lead a comfortable life in the Gulf countries. MLAs of all parties have joined hands in this regard,” Lakshmi Bidar Non-Resident Kannadathi from Qatar said.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
