Families of Rajasthanis in Kuwait have urged the state government to intervene and bring their stranded relatives back home.

Many Indians including Rajasthanis have already been deported back to their homes, including at least 1000 from Rajasthan, most of whom were involved in crime or were illegal. Sources say of the nearly 25000 Indians detained some 18,000 are from Rajasthan.

Most of the Rajasthanis who go to Kuwait for jobs are often tricked by agents and activists. Most are also illiterate and do not understand the nature of their visas, so they end up being exploited.

The Chief Minister has asked authorities to monitor the situation and the Congress MP said he will contact the Indian high commissioner in Kuwait to take up the issue and apprise the government of the situation.

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According to the NRI Affairs and Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia the Punjab government has also designated District Revenue Officers to register marriages of NRIs Earlier Tehsildars were the only designated officers to register these marriages.

This decision has been taken to provide hassle-free services to NRIs.

To eliminate any chances of corruption, the state government has asked all concerned officers to submit reports about NRI marriages to it every fortnight.

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NRI Jagmohan Singh Rana originally from Mohali complained that the Bharti AXA Life Insurance company had fraudulently taken money to the tune of Rs.25 lakhs fora policy he had not bought.

In a complicated scam Bharti AXA Life Insurance cleared cheques while Rana was not in India and when he asked the firm for a refund the company refused.

The matter was eventually settled by representatives of both parties, before the Punjab State Commission. The settlement includes the surrender and liquidation of an earlier policy as well as a refund of Rs.20 lakhs for a second policy.

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Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi announced at the inauguration of India's first Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in Bangalore, that NRI doctors who were recently allowed to join as faculty in medical colleges, will soon be allowed to practise in India.

The NRI doctors who had done their post-graduation in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand will be permitted to practise in order to reduce the acute shortage of doctors in the country, estimated at some 600,000.

Suitable changes will be made in the National Council of Human Resources Health Bill and placed before Parliament for approval.

The ESIC plans to set up eight medical colleges across the country if the Medical Council of India approves.

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Mirza Mukhtarbeg Dilawarbeg, 38, who went to Riyadh on a work visa three months ago, has appealed to the Indian Government to rescue him from his employer who forces him to work long hours, starves him and prevents him from speaking to his family in the city.

Mirza says he cannot live in the hellish conditions any more and will commit suicide if he is not rescued soon.

Sadly he and other Indians including women, who have ended up in Saudi Arabia through Pune Agent Abdul, expecting a good job and wages, have been exploited and turned into virtual slaves in the Gulf country. Abdul meanwhile has turned a deaf ear to their problems and has in fact charged some of his clients Rs.60,000 for his recruitment services.

Police say they will arrest Abdul and bring the matter to the attention of the Special Branch who will rush the issue to the Indian Embassy through the Indian External Affairs Ministry, so Mirza and other victims will get help to be freed from the clutches of their employers.

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