RIYADH — Joint Editor of Yahind.com and author of the book "Expat Ride" Mohammed Saifuddin urged the government of Telangana to take strict measures to curb the trade in so called Independent Visa (Azad Visa) and create awareness among the youth to travel to foreign countries only by legal means. Even though it is known that the Independent visa trade is illegal, many travel agents release advertisements in the local newspapers offering such visas, they should be banned. He was addressing as a keynote speaker in the group discussion on the proposed NRI policy of Telangana state; organized by All India United Society (AIUS) at Niagara Restaurant here. In his presentation on the problems of Gulf NRIs; he highlighted the issues and problems under four categories of Job seekers, domestic workers, workers in Gulf countries and Gulf returnees. Saifuddin also said that in most of the cases of runaway housemaids it was observed that women run away from their employer within few months of starting the job. It shows that there is some serious psychological problems that stops the housemaids from adjusting in a new place. He suggested that NRI's Ministry of Telangana state should conduct a detailed study to find out the root cause of this so that the runaway cases would reduce in future. Saifuddin has written many articles on the problems of Indian workers in Gulf countries which were published on www.yahind.com and his book "Expat Ride" on same issue was published recently. Syed Zia ur Rahman, CEO, Yahind.com who recently attended the meeting called by NRI Minister of Telangana state in India, briefed all about the steps taken by the Telangana state and also the suggestions and views presented by other organizations. He also said the NRI Minister K. Tarakarama Rao is very young, energetic and dynamic leader who is open to suggestions from NRI organization and individuals. Different organizations and individuals from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries participated in the meeting held at Hyderabad last week. Mohammed Jabber, President, NRI Telangana Forum, said special rehabilitation schemes should be put in place for the returning NRI's. Venu Madhev Pogaku, president, Telugu Kalaa Kshetram (TKK), highlighted the issue of transporting the dead bodies to India. He said many dead bodies are lying in the consortium from long time, ranging between three to 12 months period awaiting the completion of legal procedures and formalities from India and Saudi Arabia. He suggested that this process should be refined by policies that would help speed up the process. Mohammed Zubair, vice president, Golden Telangana Welfare Association said that investment opportunities should be created to start small and medium enterprises by low income NRIs from Gulf countries. A workshop should be conducted for training and orientation of labors migrating to Gulf countries. Syed Masood Ali, chairman, Success International School, said most of the foreign exchange remittances to Telangana is coming from Gulf countries and accordingly their problems should be dealt with high priority. Mohammed Muzaffaruddin, chief patron, Jazakaalh Khair Society said that if we find any Indian housemaid or labor in distress and wants to refer him or her to Indian Embassy, they drop them near the embassy and return back. There should be an effective mechanism where the Indian nationals should not have any fear to approach embassy in such cases. The labor and housemaids in distress should be sent back to India as soon as possible, the time required to complete the procedures and formalities should be short. President Hira Educational Society Salim Zubaidi called on the Telangana government to allocate funds for housing colony for NRIs in Hyderabad. The president of All India United Society Dr. Mohammed Ashraf Ali welcomed the gathering and appreciated the efforts and contributions of the keynote speaker Mohammed Saifuddin. He said Saifuddin is a journalist par excellence who creates a buzz with his writings. His book "Expat Ride" was used by the organizers of Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas 2013 to prepare the event's theme paper titled "Engaging Diaspora: The Indian Growth Story". Moreover, the information about this book was included in the preparatory material for India's Union Public Service Commission examinations, which is conducted every year to recruit IAS, IPS, IFS and other union public service commission officials. Vice President All India United Society Mohammed Rafeeq appreciated yahind team for their excellent track record of services and contributions spread over sixteen years. He said CEO of yahind.com Syed Zia ur Rahman is a multidimensional personality with many abilities. Engineer and Fire Marshal Mohammed Azizuddin conducted the proceedings of the event while Business Consultant Mohammed Maqsood Hussain attended the event as an observer to take note of the suggestions from the participants of the group discussion. The suggestions from all the organizations and individuals from Telangana will be compiled and a joint memorandum on behalf of all the organizations in Riyadh will be sent to the government of Telangana.
