Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, Dec 22: The International Kannadigas Federation, with support of over 120 Kannada organisations from more than 33 countries will launch a day-long Twitter campaign #NRIAPPEALDAY on January 2.
The campaign is launched to draw the attention of the state government towards strengthening the NRI (Non Resident Indian) Forum of Karnataka.
Hidayat Addoor, convenor, International Kannadigas Federation, told Daijiworld, "The government should immediately appoint a deputy chairman for NRI Karnataka Forum. The government should appoint an NRI who is aware about the problem of NRIs. This will be helpful for the NRIs as everyone cannot directly reach the chief minister. If the government appoints deputy chairman, it will be easy to convey the issues. On behalf of Kannadigas residing across the globe, we will launch a Twitter and email campaign on January 2 afternoon (4 pm Indian time).
Praveen Kumar Shetty, NRI Forum UAE, said, "Though the NRK was inaugurated at Dubai by former chief minister Siddaramaiah, no grants were received. The forum is inactive from past three years. As a deputy chairman for NRI Karnataka Forum is not appointed yet, Kannadigas are suffering after the onset of Covid-19 pandemic. Hence, appointment of a deputy chairman for NRI Karnataka Forum is a dire need.
"Only a Kannada NRI can understand the grievance of the NRIs. So, the chief minister should appoint an able Kannadiga NRI for the post,” said Ramesh Bhandary of Tulu Koota Kuwait.
“Taking part in the Twitter campaign #NRIAPPEALDAY is the duty of each NRI residing in every corner of the world. NRIs can put forth their demand during the campaign,” said Pradeep Shetty, Kannada Sangha Bahrain.
“Kannadigas can spread the ambiances of Kannada all over the world, only when there is a proper representation in the NRI Forum of Karnataka. Hence, all NRIs should join hands in this campaign,” said Shrinivas Sharma, vice president of Melbourne Kannada Sangha.
“During crisis of Covid-19 pandemic, there were no one to listen to the grievances of the NRIs as there was no deputy chairman for the NRI Forum of Karnataka. Hence, the government should appoint a deputy chairman soon,” said Chandrashekar Lingadahalli President of Sagarottara Kannadigaru.
Former deputy chairperson, NRI Forum of Karnataka, Arathi Krishna said, "Definitely, there is a need for a person who leads the NRI department as the chief minister is the chairman and normally, he will be busy with other issues. Hence, there is a need of solely dedicating oneself to address the NRI issues. Hence, a deputy chairman should be appointed. When I was the deputy chairman for 1.5 years, I introduced NRI policies and took a budget for the first time. As the government went for elections, I resigned. Due to Covid-19 pandemic, now there are a lot of issues. As there is a shutdown in the Middle East following Covid-19 pandemic, NRIs are facing various problems. And this should be addressed at the government level. For the coordination between the governments, definitely there should be a full- fledged office to address NRIs issues. When people contacted me, I was able to help thousands of them in my personal capacity due to my previous experience of working at the embassy.”
Former deputy chairman, NRI Forum, Karnataka, Ganesh Karnik said, "In this regard I have met chief minister B S Yediyurappa and appealed him to fill the vacant position of deputy chairman of NRI Karnataka Forum. The post has been vacant for a few years now. Even yesterday, when I met the chief minister for other reasons, I raised this issue. The chief minister has also assured of filling the vacant post. Due to elections, it got delayed."
For more information can contact Kannadigasfederation@gmail.com or +971551118555.