Mangaluru: Now get your Umrah Visa issued within 24 hours
Mangaluru: Saudi Government on 21 April started issuing hassle free e-visa for Umrah pilgrims that will ensure the Umrah aspirants gets their visas issued within 24 hours against what otherwise would take 10-12 days.
In this convenient process of issuing visa the Saudi Ministry approved travel agents will be able to issue visa in a time period of less than 24 hours after applying with relevant documents and requirements.
In Mangaluru, Suhana Travels located at Falnir is an authorised agent by the Saudi Government to issue such visas.
Speaking to Varthabharati on Friday, Syed Ansar Thangal, Proprietor, Suhana Travels informed that the e-visa process will prove to be very convenient for the Umrah aspirant as visas will be issued within 24 hours of applying.
“Earlier, it used to take 10-12 days to get an Umrah visa approved. After receiving the application we would send it to Embassies in Mumbai or Delhi and after receiving approval from there, it would go for further process. Now the process has been shortened and e-visa will be issued in as less as an hour or maximum within 24 hours” Ansar said.
“What is more important is, it will have no additional cost. The visa will be available at the same cost as earlier. Just that only authorised agents can issue it” he added.
Umrah aspirants can walk up to these authorised agents with their passports, photographs and Mahram proofs and get the visas issued.
However, a repeater charge of 2000 Saudi Riyals will continue to be charged for those applying for Umrah visa within two years of performing their last Umrah, Ansar informed.
“We are very grateful to the Saudi Ministry for coming up such a convenient and hassle free process for issuing Umrah visa. We are also delighted to be one of the authorised agents in the city and look forward to offering this services to our customers to make their pilgrim easy” Ansar added.
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Telangana survey flags 89,000 child labourers, highlights caste disparities in employment
Hyderabad: A caste-based survey conducted by the Telangana government for 2024–25 has identified around 89,000 children engaged in labour across the state, with a large share belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.
The findings are part of the Socio, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey, which covered about 3.5 crore people across 242 caste groups. According to the report, nearly one per cent of individuals below 18 years are involved in daily wage work. While the percentage appears small, officials noted that the absolute number reflects a serious concern.
The survey found that 11 per cent of identified child labourers belong to the ST Lambadi community, while 14 per cent are from the SC Madiga community. The highest incidence was reported among the ST Kolam group, where 7.2 per cent of minors are engaged in daily wage labour.
The data also revealed wider socio-economic disparities. Nearly half of the Scheduled Caste population is dependent on daily wage work, while only around 5 per cent are employed in the private sector, compared to about 30 per cent among General Castes.
State Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the findings show that SC and ST communities remain three times more backward than General Castes, while Backward Classes are about 2.7 times more disadvantaged.
The report further noted that, on average, 31.3 per cent of people in the 25–65 age group depend on daily wage work. Among communities, the BC-A Odde group recorded the highest share at 55 per cent. In contrast, only 2.6 per cent of OC Brahmins rely on such work.
Several SC and ST communities, including Kolam, Beda, Madiga, Koya, Gond, Yerukulas and Mala Sale, were found to have among the highest proportions of daily wage earners. On the other hand, most General Caste communities and some Backward Class groups such as Goldsmiths and BC-C Christians showed lower dependence on daily wage employment.
The survey also pointed to inequalities in access to formal employment. Communities such as OC Rajus, OC Brahmins and Kapus were found to have a higher presence in private sector jobs, with up to 27 per cent of their population employed in such roles.
