Karnataka NRI forum to start pre-departure orientation for blue collar workers

MANGALURU: The

NRI Forum Karnataka

is mulling starting a pre-departure orientation for

Kannadigas

leaving for other countries for jobs, especially blue collar workers, following many instances of them landing on the wrong side of the law due to ignorance of law.

Deputy chairman of the forum

Arathi Krishna

said that the forum in existence since 2008 had no policy due to paucity of funds. “The new NRI policy released during the Pravasi Divas a couple of months back includes pre-departure orientation,’’ she said.

According to her, there are two major issues faced by the blue collar NRIs in the Middle East - landing on the wrong side of the law by bringing banned medicines or carrying parcels and lack of financial awareness. Arathi said: The first thing the blue collar workers will do is get a credit card, raise loans to pay off debts at home and then get into serious financial mess due to bad financial planning. We have set up welfare committees in all the districts, so that people with grievances can approach for help.

Arathi wants the forum to be modelled on the lines of Kerala’s Norka (Non Resident Keralites Affairs department). “Kerala has a huge budget for NRI welfare. We don’t even have a data base of how many Kannadigas are in United Arab Emirates,’’ she said.

She admitted that the problem regarding Kannadigas landing in jail carrying banned medicines is grave, but did not have statistics to indicate how serious is it. “I don’t have full records of how many such cases are there. But in the last four months after I took charge, I have received at least seven cases,’’ she said, adding that the limited or no access from the UAE government to the Indian Embassy to the victims was hampering the forum making headway in such cases. “Even if we write to the Indian Embassy, we fail to get Consular access or permission from UAE government. That is where the delay is happening in helping the ignorant victims expeditiously in such cases,’’ Arathi noted.

Recently a person from Ullal was arrested in the Middle East as he took large quantities of epileptic medicine with prescription. “His fault was he took it for six months rather than three months,’’ said Arathi and said this is where the pre-departure orientation should come to their aid.

Also, following increasing such instances the UAE authorities also have issued a set of fresh warnings to expatriate residents and tourists against carrying prohibited medicines to the UAE.

A traveller to UAE can carry medicines for consumption for not more than three months that too with a valid medical prescription.

Regulations are imposed on the import of pharmaceutical products to the UAE under the Pharmacy Federal Law No. 4 of 1983, and Narcotic Law 14, of 1995. As per the law, the medicines are classified into four categories – narcotic, psychotropic, controlled drug A & B. Those listed under Schedule IV of the Federal Law No. 14 of 1995 should not be carried into the country. Similar regulations are applicable to the drugs in Schedule IV of the Convention of the International Narcotics Control Board 1961, and the substances mentioned in Schedule I of Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971. There are also restrictions on the import of items registered as controlled medicines in the UAE. Import of all herbal medicines is also required to follow the same procedure.