Indian Ambassador to Qatar Sanjiv Arora (second from left) explaining a point as P S Sasi Kumar (left), Anil Nautiyal (right) and ICBF vice-president Baby Kurian look on. PICTURE: Jayan Orma
By Ramesh Mathew/Staff Reporter
Eighty-three Indian expatriates died in Qatar so far in 2013, it was informed at the monthly community house yesterday.
In the previous three years a total of 709 Indian expatriates died in Qatar, it was informed.
The death figures in the Indian community for 2010, 2011 and 2012 were 233, 239 and 237, respectively.
Disclosing the death figures, Indian Ambassador Sanjiv Arora said 43 Indian expatriates are currently held in the Central prison for different criminal and other offences. A team from the embassy led by deputy head of the mission P S Sasi Kumar visited the jail on May 27 and met the Indian expatriates housed there.
A team led by Sasi Kumar also visited the deportation centre yesterday and found 216 Indian expatriates were waiting for their deportation. Last month, the figure was 221. Among those housed at the deportation centre were 25 females also.
The ambassador also informed that until the community house yesterday, the embassy received 1,460 labour and consular related complaints this year from the community members.
In 2011 and 2012, the mission received 3,186 and 3,385 complaints directly at the embassy and also at the community sessions.
Replying to a query by this newspaper the embassy officials said that they were well prepared to meet the requirements of those likely to be housed at the deportation centre in the next few months. Usually in the period between June 1 and August 30, the centre receives more inmates than in other months.
The ambassador also said that first secretary of the embassy Anil Nautiyal was returning to India after serving the embassy for more than three years. Nautiyal was looking after consular affairs for more than two years.
Sunil Tapliyal, who is arriving tomorrow (Saturday), will replace Nautiyal.
Yesterday the embassy received six complainants at the community house. Of them four were “minor” labour-related complaints and the other two dealt with consular procedures.
Arora also expressed the hope that all the issues that were brought to the attention of the community house would be resolved shortly.
Besides Arora, Sasi Kumar and Nautiyal, Indian Community Benevolent Forum vice-president Baby Kurian also spoke.
Forum helps community members get emergency passes
Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) has said that it would continue to provide assistance round the clock to the needy and deserving members of the community who are seeking the forum’s assistance, either in person or through requests made at the help desk that it operates at the embassy.
ICBF vice-president Baby Kurian said this while speaking to journalists yesterday at the community house.
The official said the forum helped 18 members of the expatriate community get emergency passes. They had sought ICBF’s assistance.
All those who approached it for assistance either had lost their passports or their sponsors refused to hand over the travel document, he said.
Kurian said until yesterday the forum gave four tickets to the inmates at the deportation centre this month. Minor assistance of different kinds was also given to nine other community members.
The forum is also supplying provisions to those approaching its help desk at the embassy, he said.
Meanwhile, the Indian embassy will host a farewell reception today at the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) in honour of First Secretary Anil Nautiyal who is returning to India after a 40-month stint in Doha.
Nautiyal, who was handling consular and labour issues for more than two years, will be posted at the Foreign Ministry headquarters on reaching Delhi.
Ambassador Sanjiv Arora is also hosting a reception for the Indian team participating in the ongoing Asian Boys and Girls weightlifting championship in Doha.
Apart from 15 athletes, a nine-member delegation of coaches, referees and physios are also accompanying the team.
The ambassador informed at the community house yesterday that as on yesterday, the visiting team had picked up 24 medals, including 10 gold, six silver and eight bronze.
