Courtesy of: http://www.kantipuronline.com
BY SURENDRA PHUYAL
As a leading Indian newspaper sounded alarms over a new threat posed by the Maoist-aligned All Nepal Hotel Workers' Union (ANHWU) in Nepal, India's Foreign Office on Tuesday clarified that the entire Indian community in Nepal is not threatened and that it has taken up the matter with the government of Nepal.
Soon on the heels of the Times of India report Tuesday -- on the front page that said 'Maoists are hounding out Indians' with additional reports on an inside page that warned of a backlash -- the Indian Ambassador in Kathmandu was expected to take up the matter with Home Minister Krishna Sitaula on Tuesday. [PLEASE CONFIRM…]
Exaggerating the story of two Indian nationals -- Rajesh Kataria and Kishore Sagar, who have reportedly returned to India after receiving death threats -- employed in a Kathmandu casino getting marching orders from CPN-M-affiliated ANHWU this past week, the Times wrote: "Death threats and 24 hour deadlines for leaving … received by Indian hospitality sector employees have created a sense of deep fear in the community."
Following which, it added, "The frightened community leaders have gone to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu for protection." The elaborate report also talked about alleged Maoist threat to Indian surveyors surveying the proposed Koshi Dam construction site in eastern Nepal, Maoist threat to Dabur Nepal and other Indian joint ventures and last years ANHWU threat to India's Taj Group which had a stake in Hotel Annapurna, Kathmandu.
It went on to warn that such Maoist high-highhandedness, coupled with the periodic anti-India demonstrations in Nepal -- which, it declared, "are a measure of nationalist vigor" in Nepal -- could unleash a backlash against Nepalese in India. India is home to around 80 million migrant Nepalis, including the internationally famed Gorkha soldiers.
However, the Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said that the only complain the Indian Embassy received was a specific complaint by Rakesh Wadhwa, executive director of Nepal Recreation Centre Pvt. Limited. "On receipt of this complaint, we have taken up the matter strongly with the Government of Nepal through our Embassy," he said.
He noted that there had been incidents of extortion against businessmen and industrial units including Indian joint ventures in Hetauda-Birgunj area. "We are in constant touch with the government of Nepal," he said, adding, "We have urged the government of Nepal to investigate these as well as to provide security and safety to the Indian nationals in Nepal whose welfare and security is naturally of prime concern."
He shied away from making it an "an alarmist situation", but added there had been cases of extortion. On the Times report, he said, "It is not correct to say, as I have heard, that community leaders are rushing to the Embassy etc. That is factually incorrect."
The public relations agent for Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), meantime, expressed concerns that such negative reports by such leading Indian media could hurt Nepal's tourism industry, which is beginning to bounce back in recent times.
Niraj Dhawan, manager of Delhi PR group Falcon that's been handling NTB's public relations and advertisement in India since May, said, "This kind of reports in the media cause damage to the improving image of Nepal. People's perceptions change very fast, It will be very difficult to change that." More so, at a time when Indian middle class have many cheap holiday packages available from Mauritius to Myanmar, and Thailand to New Zealand.
|
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
