Dear Members,
The ambassador of India HE Anil Wadhwa and Mr Shri Chand, Counsellor visited
Sohar yesterday and addressed an 'open house' at the Indian School, Sohar. The
following points were highlighted by HE in his address:
1. Evacuation Plan: HE gave some details of the evacuation of Indian nationals
from Sohar in case such a need arises. The evacuation will be through sea route.
Indian Social Club will be one of the key agencies for co-ordination of such an
effort. All the Indian Nationals should get registered with the Indian embassy
through the online registration system.
2. Helping Indian Nationals: The Indian Nationals can seek assistance from
Indian embassy on the following Helpline numbers: 24 Hour number: 24695981
Mobile number: 96530062 ( Mr Banerjee) . Anyone in a situation of
emergency, specially pertaining to medical and legal issues ( for ex: being put
behind bars) should contact the embassy as early as possible.
3.Elections: HE informed that the Indian Nationals can now take part and vote
through the embassy whenever elections are held back in India.
4. HE also informed that private schools are being allowed in the Sultanate of
Oman to address the needs of the Indian population and to ease the burden on
current schools.
5. Outsourcing of Passport and Visa: HE informed that these activities are being
outsourced and this will add an additional burden of not more than 100-200bz per
applicant.
HE touched upon several other subjects including salaries of expats ( for ex:
doctors), minimum wages for Indian workers, improvement of bilateral trade
between India and Oman.
There were two points raised by Indian Social Club:
a. More frequent visits of Embassy Officials to Sohar
b. Indian Consulate at Sohar
HE asked the ISC to send a time table and the visits will be planned
accordingly. Regarding the Indian Consulate office, HE mentioned that this can
not be done in the immediate future.
In case you want to get any further details, please get in touch with following
committee members who attended the program:
1. Mr Ramesh TC
2. Mr Sreekumar
3. Mr Mahadevan
4. Mr Rajesh
5. Dr Mahesh Mistry
6. Mr M S Jha
It is hoped that whenever the next 'Open House' takes place, more members will
turn-up for a fruitful interaction.
Best regards to you all,
Sunil Sharma
General Secretary
Indian Social Club
Sohar
