By NNN-Bernama,
Port-Au-Prince (Haiti) : A small community of Indians based in quake-ravaged Haiti have appealed to the government back home to provide them financial assistance to rebuild their lives, according to Press Trust of India (PTI) on Thursday.
These people not only lost their homes and cars in the devastating January 12 earthquake of magnitude 7.0 but also the money they had in the banks which too collapsed in the tremor, the worst to hit the tiny Caribbean nation that claimed an estimated 200,000 lives.
They had presented Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shashi Tharoor, with a written demand for compensation when he visited Port-au-Prince two weeks after the earthquake.
“They (Indian officials) listened, they promised but nothing has happened,” said Eddy Handal, the honorary consul for the Indian government, while also referring to a visit by the officials of the Indian embassy in Cuba.
Tharoor said he was deeply sympathetic about the Indians in Haiti but the purpose of his visit had a broader mandate of expressing solidarity with Haitians, grieving the loss of UN personnel and boosting the morale of Indian peacekeepers engaged in relief work in the aftermath of the quake.
“I had a four-fold mission,” he told PTI.
Handal, a Haitian businessman, noted that while Indian government had provided USD five million for relief efforts, it had not extended any monetary help to its own citizens here. “Why not also provide for your own people”? he asked.
Officials familiar with the matter said presently there was no provision for providing financial help for Indians in the event of a natural disaster abroad.
Further, changes to existing system would need examination by several arms of the government.
Another problem for Indians, who are a small community of around 30 engineers and business people here, was getting back to their native country.
The Indians wanted a return ticket back home, but the government said that it could only allow repatriation.
This was not an option that appealed to many people since it involved cancellation of one’s passport on arrival and paying for a new passport, which is issued only after the cost of the ticket has been reimbursed.
Without the repatriation option, a few Indians, who wanted to leave this country, could not do so because they were unable to get into the neighbouring Dominican Republic — the only way out of here since there were no direct commercial flights in and out of Haiti.
Several Indians living in Haiti have a US visa, which allows them to get to the Dominican Republic without the country-specific visa.
However, persons with an Indian passport and Haitian visa cannot get into Santo Domingo, the capital of Dominican Republic without the country’s visa.
“The embassy of the Dominican Republic in Haiti was just not accessible,” said Sanjay Paul, an engineer who was trying to reach Santo Domingo.
“My wife was very afraid and wanted me to come back but I could not leave.”
-NNN-BERNAMA
India, UK To Jointly Study Changes In Water Cycle
NEW DELHI, Feb 18 (Bernama) — Scientists from India and the United Kingdom (UK) have joined hands for studying the monsoon rains in the sub-continent to improve predictions on future patterns of flood and drought, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Thursday.
The improved predictions are expected to help both countries choose crops best suited to local conditions, potentially saving lives and safeguarding property.
The Memorandum of Understanding for co-operation in studying changing water cycles was signed by Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan and British Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills Pat McFadden last evening.
“It is not just an MoU it is followed up by resources. The UK has committed 2.5 million pounds for research in areas identified by the two sides,” McFadden told PTI here.
He said the Research Councils UK will work with their counterparts in India in studying the crucial area.
“For many regions, including the south of Britain and parts of India, there is no clear picture on whether climate change will mean more or less rain,” he said.
“Studying the Indian monsoon is very crucial to the understanding of climate change and how it will unravel,” Ajit Tyagi, Director General, India Meteorological Department said.
He said Indian scientists, including those at IMD, were planning studies on monsoon and the British researchers are expected to join them in some areas.