Dubai: Shattered Dreams Of Andhra Migrant Labour - I

Deccan Chronicle/Asian Age, March 9, 2007
By Syed Akbar
Dubai, March 8: As the mosques that dot the landscape of Dubai reverberate with the call for the pre-dawn Fajr prayers, thousands of young people line up outside numerous labour camps in search of daily labour.
Before the dawn break out, dozens of buses arrive, one after other, and the line grows shorter. By 6 am, the entire crowd disappears and the labour camps wear a deserted look, only to brim back with activity after 9.00 pm.
This is the daily routine outside the so-called labour camps, which house illegal migrant workers, mostly from Karimnagar and Nizamabad districts in Andhra Pradesh.
With the "Kalli Valli" (illegal in local language) tag attached to their names, these migrant workers spend life in Dubai searching for work on daily basis.
Since they lack legal migrant worker status they are not assured of regular
employment. They are hired on daily basis and paid wages per each hour they work, with no medical facility or labour rights protection.
Sandagari Sai Reddy, 25, a migrant worker from Nizamabad, stands as the tall example of how Kalli Valli workers are exploited by construction firms.
Sai Reddy came to Dubai two years ago and after undergoing untold sufferings he wants to return to India. He suffered a fracture at a construction site and is now confined to a wheel chair. He was admitted in Rashidiya Hospital and was discharged last week. But the hospital authorities do not want to send Sai Reddy out of the hospital as he had not cleared 7000 Dirhams medical bill.
With Dubai becoming the fastest growing city on the earth with an unparalleled boom in the construction industry, unscrupulous recruitment agents and so-called manpower companies have turned this bustling city of high-rise buildings and wide roads into a haven for illegal migrant workers.
And the victims are mostly from the backward areas of Nizamabad and Karimnagar and some hail from neighbouring Warangal and Adilabad districts in Telangana region.
Investigations by this newspaper revealed that more than four lakh Telugu-
speaking construction workers are held up in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other Emirates in UAE as illegal migrants thanks to the well-chalked out strategy by recruiting agents, construction companies and UAE officials to pump in cheap labour to sustain the construction boom.

Of the four lakh and odd Telugu illegal migrants in UAE, a whopping 3.7 lakh do not posses passports and hence no national identity, except the Telugu language they speak. The common complaint is that recruiting agents had taken away their passports on arrival in UAE. Neither they do possess any documents that establish their nationality or bring them under the purview of the UAE labour laws for compensation, in case of injury or death at the work place.
"All my dreams have been shattered. Now I am not in a position to stand, let alone resume work at construction site. My employer does not want to bear the medical expenses as I am a Kalli Valli. Unless I pay 7000 Dirhams (Rs 84,000) the hospital will not allow me to leave the country. Moreover, I have to obtain emergency certificate from the Indian Consulate and pay penalty to UAE authorities for overstay. I will have to bear the cost of air ticket. I came to Dubai after borrowing Rs 1 lakh and I am yet to clear the debt," Sai Reddy
points out.
Like Sai Reddy, Kalli Valli workers cannot leave UAE for the simple reason that they do not have passports. Some of them have been staying in Dubai for as long as 12 years without hope of ever returning to India. Dudekula Shaik Saheb has been visiting the Indian Consulate in Dubai for the last six months.
He has completed 12 years of over stay in Dubai and wants to return home. But the main hurdle in his journey back to India is the passport, which he had given away to his agent long back.
The Indian Embassy allows Kalli Valli workers to travel to India only in emergency situations provided they prove they are Indians. Coming from lower strata of society and steeped in illiteracy, it takes years for some of the illegal migrant workers to prove their nationality.
That only 4000 "Out Passes" or "Emergency Certificates" were issued by Indian Consulate in Dubai last year, against more than four lakh illegal migrants in UAE, reveals the enormity of hurdles they face if they want to return to India.
Luckily for these migrant workers, the local police are not after them. The police do not swoop on illegal migrant workers for the simple reason that they contribute a lot to the economy of UAE and do not expect anything in return. Only those involved in theft, murder and other crimes are arrested and deported.
While a majority of the illegal migrant workers have been duped in by unscrupulous agents, a few thousands have voluntarily turned "illegal" by jumping their original employer to work as daily wagers at construction sites.
Interaction with over 200 migrant workers at labour camps in Al-Satwa, Rolla Square, Sonapur, Bur Dubai and Al-Khos revealed that recruiting agents are not always at fault. Though the agents are blamed for pumping in illegal workers to UAE as it offers them lucrative commission, in many cases the workers themselves are responsible for their plight and misery.
A Mallaiah from Nampally village of Vemulawada mandal in Karimnagar is a victim of recruitment scandal. He was lured with a promise of good job and comfortable stay but he faced reality only after he landed in Dubai. He has been working as illegal migrant worker for the past five years and now that he wants to go back to his village to perform the marriage of his daughter, he can't. Because he does not possess a passport. "I will commit suicide if you do not help me," he pleads with Indian Consulate officials.
Inquiries by this correspondent revealed that recruitment agents put two options before prospective migrant workers over the type of visa they would like to have to visit UAE. One is "employment visa" that costs more and the other "visit visa" that comes at a relatively cheaper rate. But the agents insist that the workers take the "visit visa". The visit visa saves the employer from legal and labour formalities in UAE.
Little do the workers know that this "visit visa" will later turn a bane for them when they really want to return home. The visit visa expires after 59 days (extendible by another 30 days) and after this the workers become illegal
migrants or "Kalli Valli".
The visit or "Kalli Valli" visa including the air fare costs anything between
Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000 while the employment visa that guarantees legal migrant status comes for Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 1,50,000. Since most of the workers from Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Warangal districts hail from lower strata of society with poor financial backgrounds, they prefer to live illegally as Kalli Valli.
Enquiries revealed that some of the workers intentionally turn Kalli Valli even after gaining entry as legal migrants through employment visa. This is because the salaries offered by legal employers is only 450 to 500 UAE Dirhams while as Kalli Valli each worker earn 60 to 70 Dirhams a day or about 1800 Dirhams a month.
"What these workers fail to understand is that though they earn low wages as
legal migrants, they are eligible for health and labour benefits including
compensation in case of accidents. But unfortunately, the desire to earn more
makes these migrants to work as Kalli Valli," says an official of the Indian
Consulate.
The modus operandi is quite simple. After a worker on visit visa lands in Dubai, the agent takes away his passport and makes him Kalli Valli. Once the worker loses his passport he becomes an illegal migrant. With the passport goes away all the rights. He is not eligible for compensation in case of injuries or death in accident at the work site. The UAE labour or the immigration department does not recognise the rights of Kalli Valli workers.
Taking away of passport and turning workers Kalli Valli is a deliberate attempt on the part of the recruiting agents, bigwigs in the construction industry and the officials in the UAE government. Kalli Valli workers live on the constant threat of being arrested by the police. But their free movement and negligible number of arrests or detention by police give credence to the charge that the UAE government wants illegal workers to stay in Dubai and other Emirates to help the construction industry.
"Not only the Kalli Valli workers come as labour on hourly basis but also do not have any legal rights to claim compensation. This suits the booming construction industry in UAE as the employers can simply wash their hands off by paying Dirhams on hourly basis," points out social activist Uma Paddy, who has been counselling Kalli Valli workers for the past 10 years.
Since the Kalli Valli workers do not have passports or other legal documents that prove their legal status or national identity, employers exercise an unreasonable degree of control over them. It is interesting that though UAE courts have described the practice of taking away passports as illegal, the Emirates government has not initiated any steps to end this menace. Those who want to be deported to India need to surrender to immigration authorities in Dubai. But the authorities turn down Kalli Valli workers saying that the jails are full and there's no space to lodge more prisoners. This makes the process of leaving Dubai more difficult for illegal Indians.
"I have approached the immigration authorities at least half a dozen times. But they are not willing to imprison me. If they jail me, at least I can leave Dubai," says Dokuri Veera Reddy of Asireddypalli village in Karimnagar district. He preferred Mumbai airport to Hyderabad three years ago when he landed in Dubai in search of employment.

Robotic surgery to treat cervical and ovarian cancers

2007
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Feb 8: Now it's robotic surgery to treat cervical and ovarian cancers. A team of US cancer specialists is in the city to train local doctors in this new surgical system, which is fast becoming popular in the West.

Robotic surgery is an advanced version of laproscopy, but involves almost no blood loss. Only a small (1 cm) incision is made and the surgeon operates upon the patient sitting on a monitor away from the operating bed.

According to Dr Linus Chuang of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA, the robotic surgery is relatively painless. "This subsequently leads to decreased need for blood transfusions and speedier recovery to daily livings and works," he says.
Dr Linus is part of the robotic surgeons' team which is in the city to attend the two-day international cancer care, education and research conference beginning Saturday. Once the local oncologists are trained in the robotic surgical methods, robotic surgery will become a norm in Hyderabad.

"At present the cost is quite high. Once it is introduced in India, the cost will come down drastically," says Apollo Hospitals senior oncologist Dr Vijay Anand P Reddy, who is organising the international cancer conference.

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women in India and the human papilloma virus is the culprit. It is traditionally treated by radical hysterectomy or radiation therapy. Robotic surgery will soon replace the traditional methods of cancer management.

"The intuitive nature of the robotic approach, as well as the magnification, dexterity, and flexibility, combined with the significant reduction in surgeon's fatigue offered by the robotic system, will allow and encourage more surgeons to use this minimally invasive approach to radical hysterectomy," says Dr Linus.

The robotic surgical device consists of an ergonomically designed surgeon’s console, a patient-side cart with three to four interactive robotic arms, a high-performance 3-dimensional vision system and seven degrees of mobility.
Because of the improved visualisation, control and dexterity, the robotic surgical device overcomes the limitations of traditional laparoscopic technology, he said.

Muharram: Hussaini Brahmins of Telangana

January 29, 2007
By Syed Akbar
Muharram, the first month of the Islamic Higera calendar, binds together the hearts of people of different religions in Andhra Pradesh, as in other parts of India. The first 10 days of this holy Islamic month are observed with religious fervour and devotion by Muslims and Hindus alike. In fact, more number of Hindus are seen offering prayers at Ashoorkhanas in Telangana villages and at Peerla Panjas in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.
Moharrum in Andhra Pradesh is a great occasion of integration. In some villages Hindu women dance and sing songs recalling the great sacrifice of Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain.
The uniqueness of Muharram in Andhra Pradesh is that even upper caste Hindus including Brahmins, particularly women, participate in prayers at Ashoorkhanas and Peerla Panjas, presenting a rare show of communal amity and human brotherhood. Some villages in Telangana still have a small section of people called "Hussaini Brahmins", who are known to observe Muharram traditionally for centuries. Hussain Brahmins are known to have been observing the 10th day of Muharram (Yaum-e-Ashoora) even before the formal entry of Muslims into the Indian sub-continent.
Muharram is observed differently in three different regions of the State. A majority of Shias and a section of Hindus observe "matam" (mourning) and offer "dhattis" to the Alams (standards) in Telangana. But in coastal Andhra where Shia Muslims are numerically a small community, Sunni Muslims manage and organise the Muharram processions with beautifully decorated "Peers" (Alams). The main difference in Muharram observance between Telangana and Andhra regions is that Hindus belonging to a particular caste in Andhra have adopted a particular Peerla Panja. For instance, dhobis have their own Peerla Panja and the organisers ensure that the Peer or Alam visits the houses of all dhobis in the given locality. The butcher community has its
own Peerla Panja. In the case of Rayalaseema, Muharram processions are taken out jointly by Hindus and Muslims.
In Hyderabad the Yaum-e-Ashoora is marked by the huge Bibi-ka-Alam procession on a caparisoned elephant. Lakhs of people from different parts of the State visit Hyderabad to witness the event. Some of the Panjas and Ashoor Khanas are controlled by Hindu mutavallis. Fire-walking is also a practice in some parts of the State during Muharram.
"Even the nomadic Lambada tribal community has evolved its own style of observing Muharram. There are hundreds of Muharram hymns in Telugu, though Telugu is the mother tongue of only a few thousand Muslims in Andhra Pradesh. This clearly shows that many Hindus have been religiously observing the Yaum-e-Ashoora. Interestingly most of the Muharram hymns and lamentation songs in Telugu have been penned by Hindu writers and poets," says eminent Telugu poet Yakoob. Since Muharram stands for the
fight between democracy and Satanic forces, people of all communities have stood by Imam Hussain and his pious group of followers.
On the 10th day of Muharram processions are taken out throughout the State wherein people of all communities participate singing hymns in praise of the martyrs of the battle of Karbala. The Hussaini Brahmin sect, though very small in number, also takes part in the procession.
According to senior Islamic writer Syed Naseer Ahmad, the Hussaini Brahmins are also known as Dutts or Mohiyals in north India. "They have a long martial tradition, which the Hussaini Brahmins trace back to the Battle of Karbala about 14 centuries ago. The belief is that the ancestor of Hussaini Brahmins known as Rahab had fought in the army of Imam Hussain by travelling all the way from Punjab. Rahab fought against Yazid. Rahab's sons who survived the battle returned to India and settled down in the western Punjab. But this tradition is slowly dying down," says Naseer
Ahmad.

Digital historic atlas of South India throws light on prehistoric Dravidian land

2007
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Jan 25: Was the prehistoric Dravidian land a habitat of Homo Erectus, the ancestor of modern man, Homo Sapiens? Did the modern man evolved in South India, as opposed to the general view that the ancestor of modern man had his origin in Africa?
According to the first-ever digital historic atlas of South India, the land of Dravidian people, an analogy of prehistoric South India with African sites shows that the "man" who dominated the early Stone Age in the region south of the Vindhyas belonged to the species of Homo Erectus.
The South Indians were adept in making jewellery and making tools from iron. But they learnt about the "Varna" system from their counterparts in the north.
The population density in South India at that time was very low and actually so far only two localities of this lower Palaeolithic culture are known, namely Upper Krishna valley in Karnataka and Attirampakkam valley about 50 kilometres to the north-west of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The man at this stage was mostly a hunter using large-sized stone tools such as handaxes and choppers.
"An analogy with African sites shows that this man is supposed to belong to the species of Homo Erectus. The real ancestor of modern man (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) who appeared around 50,000 years before present was a more developed species who could fabricate thinner flake tools and blade-like tools using a variety of stones," the atlas, prepared by the French Institute of Pondicherry, points out.
In their presentation made early this week at the Map World Forum meeting held in Hyderabad, Frederic Borne, head of Geomatic Laboratory, Pondicherry and others, pointed out that the aim behind the digital atlas was to give an objective information on the cultural, social, economic and political information pertaining to South India, from prehistoric times to 1600 AD, using a combination of maps, illustrations and texts, and using GIS techniques.
The compilers of the atlas heavily relied on the epigraphic records (nearly 9,000) for the period from 600 CE to 1600 CE and on archaeology for the pre-600 CE period. Using maps, the digital atlas gives vivid information on the important areas in South India including traces of Ramayana, wherein Sri Rama was mentioned as having crossed the Vindhyas to free Sita from the clutches of Ravana.
The period 3000 to 1000 BC in south India was marked an important technological development when man took much care to make the stone tools in finer shapes by grinding and polishing. "For the first time some storage vessels were made using clay. Also first experiments were made to cultivate grains on a small scale. Cattle and sheep were domesticated. That is, the Neolithic man had more than one avenue of getting his subsistence, hunting being just one among the many," the atlas observes.
According to the compilers, more areas were begun to be occupied by man in several parts of Indian sub-continent but in different times, starting at the earliest in 7000 BC in Baluchistan (Pakistan) and from 3000 BC onwards elsewhere. In the south India, the Neolithic period had its advent around 2500 BC. The Neolithic stage man lived mostly on small flat hills or on the foothills in small, more or less permanent settlements but for periodical transhumance for grazing purposes.
The South Indian neolitithic man gave his dead kin proper burials within urns or pits. His aesthetic sense can be appreciated in the form of rock-art found near or within the rock-shelters. Such structures are reported from Gulbarga district. These monuments are so far mainly distributed in the Central Deccan, in the districts to the south of Hyderabad.
During the Megalithic Age (1000 to 300 BC), unlike in north India, the Iron Age culture in peninsular India is marked by Megalithic burial sites, which are found in several hundreds of places. For the first time most of south India is studded with Iron Age sites; in other words, most of the macro-region, from Nagpur in the north to Kanyakumari in the extreme south was populated by the Iron Age folk during the course of the first millennium BC.
"Still there is much to be learnt regarding the chronology of these sites. On the basis of some excavations, and on the basis of the typology of the burial monuments, it has been suggested that there was a gradual spread of the Iron Age sites from the north to the south. The southern sites are therefore considered chronologically later than the northern sites," the Atlas says.
Iron technology was highly developed and shows a high degree of uniformity through the length and breadth of peninsular India. Both iron tools and weapons show quite a variety.
The ancient South Indians were also adept in making gold, silver, copper, and bronze jewels and objects of art. "They were things of prestige. Beads made of carnelian were ubiquitous prestige objects found among the grave goods," according to the Atlas.
The period 300 BC to 200 BC marked the first or earliest historical phase of south India including Tamizakam or Tamil land comprising present Tamil Nadu and Kerala states, as writing in the proper sense started appearing from early 3rd century BC, though written documents is not available in sufficient quantity to help in the reconstruction of history.
During the third century BC, the Deccan was part of the Mauryan kingdom whose political centre was in Pataliputra in north India, and from the middle of the first century BC to second century CE the same area was ruled by the Satavahana dynasty. The Tamil area had all along an independent political set-up.
"Gradually the rulers came under the spell of north Indian ideology of kshatriya varna (ruling class), which encouraged performance of Vedic sacrifices to enhance the status of the ruler and equated him with the heroes of the Itihasa-Purana tradition," it points out.

Codex on Pappadam: What's the size of your papad?

January 20, 2007
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Jan 19: Any traditional Indian meal is incomplete without the crispy papads. And as the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants, controlled jointly by the FAO and the WHO, decides to include papads on its food items list, the Indian government sets international standards for this tasty kitchen product.
Papads, generally prepared from soaked rice flour or black gram, mixed with salt and spices, should be manufactured and dried under hygienic conditions.
"Papads shall be in the form of thin circular discs having diameter ranging from 5 cm to 25 cm. The thickness shall be 0.3 mm to 1.2 mm for papads while for sago papads it shall be between 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm," according to the standards prescribed by the Central government.
Any food item that meets Codex standards will be accepted by member countries around the world. If Indian papad manufacturers meet the new government standards, they can compete in the international market without any hassles.
The new Indian Codex standards for papads also specify that papads shall be of "pleasant taste and smell, and shall be free from rancid or bitter taste and shall not crumble".
Papads shall also be free from broken or frayed edges, excessive number of holes, dirt or foreign matters, insect infestation or fungal growth. On frying, papad shall be brittle (break easily) and crispy to bite. They shall not give leathery, gritty, sticky or soggy mouth feel.
Apart from papads, several traditional food products like lassi, khoa, tamarind concentrate and powder, fruit bars, picked fruits and pickled vegetables, chilli paste, paneer and bhujiya.
The Indian Codex standard for lassi is that it should be free from added foreign matter including starch except sugar and synthetic sweetener. The fat obtained shall conform to milk fat and pesticide residue on fat basis shall conform to codex limit for milk on fat basis.
As far as khoa is concerned, the milk fat in it should be not less than 30 per cent on dry weight basis and it should be free from added starch and added sugar and there should be no colouring matter or pesticide residues below the limit under codex for milk on fat basis.
When it comes to doodh peda, the Codex guidelines specify that the total solids should be 65 per cent at the minimum level and the fat content on dry basis should be a minimum of 30 per cent. Peda should be free from pathogens and added colour.
If Gulab Jamun has to meet the international standards it should be prepared from khoa, skimmed milk powder, milk powder, ghee, cream, butter or other milk solids. It may, however, contain maida, citric acid and baking powder but should be free from dirt, insects and mould growth. The gulab jamun should be uniform in colour, shape and shall have good flavour and appropriate texture.
Rasagulla should not contain any added starch and fat obtained from the product shall conform to milk fat. It may contain preservative permitted under codex for dairy products but shall be free from added colour.
Tamarind concentrate or powder should be free from insects, fibres and seeds. The concentrate shall have characteristic flavour, free from burnt or any other objectionable flavour and taste.

Artificial Intelligence: IIIT comes out with intelligent robots

2007
By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, Jan 8: Dozens of robots vied with one another on Monday separating ferocious "tigers" from large but humble "elephants" and "eating" fruits leisurely to boost their artificial intelligence.
The Robo Safari held at the International Institute of Information Technology here brought to the fore the advancement made by India on the artificial intelligence front. Robots in different shapes and sizes took part in the Robo Safari, the first of its kind competition being held down the Vindhyas. The competition coincides the five-day International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence which began on Monday.
The Robo Safari began with robots entering a room where several objects shaped like elephants, tigers, dogs, zebras and lions and apples, bananas, citrus, grapes and pomegranates were placed. The robots vied with one another to recognise these artificial objects using their artificial brains.
The task before the robots was not simple. They will have to identify the object and record its image as well. This twin task of identifying and recording the object is not quite easy for the robots. The designers have all racked their brains and put their natural intelligence together to make the robots work with artificial intelligence.
"The contest is aimed at testing visual intelligence and mechanical strength. The idea is to look at the development of mobile robots that can effectively work in a wide variety of situations and environments. The challenge is to build robots that can perform tasks in realistic environments exploiting the recent developments in the areas of computer vision and mobile robotics," says one of the organisers.
The robots were developed based on a real-time vision system with a laptop and a camera mounted on a given mobile platform. The vision system must detect, recognise and locate all instances of objects along the path of the robot. The Safari was held in two subjects location and identification.
The robots moved on five different types of terrain, racing along the circuit one at a time. Scores were given based on their performance. The robots were started by a button/switch at the beginning of the race once the judge pressed the timer. After starting, the robots worked completely autonomous and moved along the track and negotiated obstacles without external control or intervention.
While doing so the robots recognised all objects in their path. A 3D model of the specified objects were placed in different poses. Room lighting was kept normal with no deep shadows.
The contestants were supplied with a set of multiple images of several target objects a month in advance while another set was released only on Sunday to make the competition even tougher.
The robots counted the objects - one apple, two tigers and an elephant even while reporting it correctly.
In the second competition based on "localisation", the robot entered the room where simple geometric objects (3D) were kept. It stopped at certain positions (unknown to participants). The vision task is to localise the robot at that position. The starting location of the robot was made available to the participants.
At positions where it stops, optional landmarks (at-least 3 in number) were placed for aiding localisation. These landmarks were made known to participants in advance. The positions of the landmarks were given at the start of the competition. They were in the same frame of reference as the starting position of the robot.
When the robot stopped it was notified through a mike input to the lap-top in form of a beep or tone. Uncertainty in position of the robot up to a certain error was allowed.