The co-existence of various communities in Bhatkal should be example for rest of India: Ateeq Muniri
►Muniri facilitated chartered flight for stranded Kannadigas from UAE to Mangaluru on June 11, and has two more scheduled
Bhatkal: Amidst the coronavirus crisis globally, the Indian government initiated an operation under the name 'Vande Bharat' to expatriate Indians stranded across the global.
However the non-resident Kannadigas especially those in middle-east countries repeatedly complained that they were feeling left out from the operation and the government is unable to facilitate their expatriation to their home state.
Taking note of the plights of the stranded Kannadigas, a few noted businessmen came forward and offered help to them by arranging chartered flights free of cost or at minimal costing. They co-ordinated with the authorities and government to help Indians stranded in gulf countries return back to India.
The list also includes private entities like SAQCO which expatriated over 170 Kannadigas from Saudi Arabia who were awaiting their return to home owing to various emergencies back home.
Another businessman Ateequr Rahman Muniri who is the chairman of Nuha General Trading in Dubai also facilitated similar act of expatriating stranded Indians from UAE. Chartered flight arranged by Muniri, landed at Mangaluru Airport on June 11 with 184 passengers who had medical emergencies and other needs for their urgent return.
Vartha Bharati, spoke to Ateequr Rahman Muniri, for an exclusive interview wherein he informed that he has arranged for two more chartered flights in the coming days, one of which will land at Mangaluru Airport on June 23.
Here are the excerpts from the interview:
Q: Please tell us something about your business and the background you come from.
A: I am Ateequr Rahman Muniri, I initially worked in KSA for 12 years before moving to UAE, where I currently have business of promoting Indian Basmati Rice throughout GCC. This results in generating huge revenue to India by export.
Q: People have been lauding your efforts in facilitating the expatriation of so many stranded people from UAE to their home state. How did you come up with a plan like this personally?
A: The whole COVID pandemic had a huge impact on me personally. I was upset reading and hearing about the stories of stranded fellow men. There were pregnant women, aged people, handicaps, patients and others who needed immediate assistance. There were also people who had lost jobs due to the pandemic and were going through financial difficulties. So I thought I should step in and help people with whatever little I can do for them.
Q: How did the whole process pan out? How many people were involved in making this a successful operation?
A: The vision was not easy. I had never been a part of anything like this before. But then, I had made my mind to go far it. And with a team of a lot of my community members and with Allah's will we did it.
Q: How were the passengers who would take the flight shortlisted?
A: It was a challenge to shortlist passengers. But as they say, nothing is impossible. Once you decide to do something, you do it. There were a few criterias that we followed to ease the process and the needs and urgency of people to go back to India were given priority.
Q: Do you think the government neglected NRIs in Gulf while allocating flights under Vande Bharat?
A: I won't say they neglected us. They too have a lot of challenges in situations like these. They were happy to allow us facilitate chartered flights. They helped us and that clears their intentions. That's what I believe.
Q: Where do you think the government could've done better?
A: State like Kerala has taken very good initiatives for their NRIs. I believe if our governments would take similar steps that it would've been very much appreciatiable.
Q: You hail from Bhatkal which is known for some wrong reasons in the media. What are your opinions on that?
A: I am a proud Bhatkally Indian. The negative image is created by media only to butter their bread. Most of the Indians are gentle and peace loving. We also have very pleasant and peaceful atmosphere here in Bhatkal which also has a huge population of non-Muslims. The two communities co-exists so beautifully, that it can set examples for every other place of the country. In our first flight, there were non-Muslims too, we did not discriminate on any lines.
Attequr Rahman who is also the vice-president of local socio-political organization Majlis-e-Islah wa Tanzeem concluded adding that his gesture was transpired by another Bhatkally businessman and community SM Khaleelur Rahman, who Muniri said guided him throughout.
Two more flights arranged by Muniri will arrive at Mangaluru Airport on June 23 and July 3 frim Ras-Al-Khaima.
He also pointed that, people who were from well-to-do background and were able to afford were urged to pay 1050 AED but were not forced to or compulsorily charged. He also added that the rest of the amount was paid by his company.
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ADM responds in Hindi: U'khand HC asks if person who can't speak English control executive position
Nainital, Jul 26 (PTI): The Uttarakhand High Court has asked two top officials of the state to find out whether an officer who has no knowledge of English can effectively control an executive position after an additional district magistrate responded in Hindi during the hearing of a PIL.
When the division bench of Chief Justice Guhanathan Narendar and Justice Alok Mahra asked why he chose Hindi instead of English, the official said while he could understand the language he was unable to speak it fluently.
At this, the bench asked the State Election Commissioner and the Chief Secretary to find out whether an officer of ADM (Additional District Magistrate) level, who has no knowledge of English, can effectively control an executive position.
The ADM concerned is also the electoral registration officer of Nainital.
The high court asked the state election commissioner and the Chief Secretary to appear before it via video conferencing at the next hearing of the PIL on July 28 to respond to the query.
The situation arose during the hearing of the PIL questioning the inclusion of names of outsiders in the voter list for panchayat elections in Budhlakot gram sabha of Nainital district.
Taking a strict stance on the issue, the high court questioned the State Election Commission on the criteria used for the inclusion of such individuals in the voter list.
The court asked on what basis these individuals were identified as residents of the area.
The election officer, who appeared personally before the court, informed that the names were identified based on the family register.
However, the court observed that under the Panchayati Raj Act, birth and death certificates are considered more important documents than the family register.
So far, more than 25 petitions challenging various issues related to the panchayat elections have been filed. Notably, Akash Bora, a resident of Budhlakot, filed the PIL stating that 82 names in the village's voter list belonged to people from outside the area, most of whom are from the state of Odisha and other places.
When he complained to the SDM, a fact-finding committee was constituted, which found that 18 individuals listed were indeed outsiders.
However, even after the final voter list was released, the names of these 18 individuals were not removed.
After filing the PIL, the petitioner also submitted a list of 30 more such individuals to the court.
However, despite repeated complaints, no action has been taken, the PIL said.
The list includes names of outsiders from places such as Haldwani, Nainital, Odisha, Delhi and Haridwar.
