Leader of Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir slammed the TRS government for tarnishing the image of Telangana at the global level.
In a media statement on Sunday, Shabbir Ali said that the TRS government had completely wound up the NRI Cell which had been established by him as the then minister for NRI Affairs during the previous Congress regime.
He said that the NRI Cell had ensured the participation of Telugus in almost all global events, and also helped those working in foreign countries. The NRI Cell was imparting training to the youth, especially those hailing from north Telangana, in various skills through the National Academy of Construction. The trained youth had more employability and were preferred abroad, especially in the Gulf countries, Shabbir Ali claimed.
However, due to the negligent attitude of the TRS government, which had stopped the funding for the NRI Cell and had thus brought down its activities to almost nil, the youth were not getting any training before going to foreign countries in search of jobs, Shabbir Ali alleged. Consequently, most of them were facing huge problems due to a lack of skills. The action was also badly affecting the image of the new State at the global level, he claimed.
The Congress leader said that the NRIs and workers from Telangana were not getting any assistance from the State government due to the defunct NRI Cell. The drought situation in Telangana had also increased the number of Gulf aspirants as the children of drought-hit farmers were preparing to go to the Gulf countries to help their parents, but due to a lack of training and assistance, they are unable to get proper job opportunities. He demanded that the State government revive the NRI Cell and allocate sufficient funds.