Indian mission’s open house gains popularity
Consulate to launch volunteer committees to reach out to expats, address grievances
Indian expatriates who have run into all sorts of hurdles are getting help from their own government.
In order to redress grievances of Indian expatriates, the Indian Consulate in Dubai has launched an Open House forum as a means of seeking tangible solutions to often complex problems while living abroad.
The consulate is also launching what it is calling a volunteer committee outreach to bridge the gap between Indian expats and the consulate.
The third grievance forum was held at the consulate yesterday.
More than 50 people carrying file folders of paperwork attended the forum.
Vipul, Indian Consul-General, told Gulf News that staff at the diplomatic mission in Dubai are on-site for every forum to fix whatever situation is ailing expats.
“We launched this forum on January 26 this year. The forum is held on the third Friday of every month from 3pm. Most people have no time on weekdays so this forum is open to everyone to come in and meet all consuls in one room and get their problems redressed.”
So far, the consulate has held three sessions until yesterday and has recorded an overwhelming response from expatriates.
Vipul recalled that the “first session was lukewarm as we had only 20 complainants but as word spread, over 50 complainants have been coming to each session and we have been able to effectively resolve many disputes”.
The complaints are varied and range from labour disputes and non-payment of end-ofservice benefits to domestic violence, custody battles, passport expiry, fraud, erroneous replies by officials and also repatriation of mortal remains of poor Indians.
Going beyond the official response, all consuls sitting in one room, which is not the norm otherwise, effectively confer and consult and try to redress issues with great success.
To make this initiative more effective, seven committees with five volunteers each will be launched on Monday.
The committees will deal with different problems such as those of stranded sailors, financial disputes, labour disputes and so on. Volunteers drawn from different emirates will bridge the gap between the consulate and the people.
Vipul added: “These volunteers will be the outreach arm who will reach out to Indian expatriates and link them to us so that we can deal effectively with issues concerning them.”
We launched this forum on January 26. It is held on the third Friday of every month from 3pm. Most people have no time on weekdays so this forum is open to everyone to meet all consuls in one room and get their problems redressed.”
Vipul | Indian Consul-General