Chennai: The DMK government devised schemes for overseas Tamils on the same lines in which it drew up plans for the welfare of the Tamil people living in the State by following the path set by former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Minister for Youth Welfare and Sport Development Udhayanidhi Stalin said on Thursday.
Inaugurating the two-day Overseas Tamils Day celebrations at the Chennai Trade Centre, he said that was overwhelmed with joy to meet at a single place Tamil-speaking people from 58 countries, who held positions as Ministers, Parliamentarians, Legislators, industry leaders and poets back home.
Thanking the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils for organizing the event that had brought 1000s of people across the globe, he said that it was an effort of the present DMK Government that had launched several welfare schemes for the Tamil people living abroad.
Among the government efforts that the Minister listed were the setting up the facility for children of overseas Tamil to learn Tamil language and making available textbooks for them, giving away awards for Tamil writers all over the world and integrating Tamil entrepreneurs in various countries.
Recalling the olden days when people who went abroad faced several hassles, he said the setting up of the Non-Resident Tamils Welfare Board had ironed out many of those issues. There were times that it would take eight months to a year to bring back the bodies of Tamils who passed in foreign soil but now the government’s efforts had led to the bodies being handed over to relatives at home in eight to 10 days, he said.
Listing the various measures taken by the Commissionerate of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non-Resident Tamils, he mentioned the quick evacuation of students and nurses from Palestine following the outbreak of the water with Israel. Even when the war broke out in Ukraine, the government acted fast in bringing back Tamils, he said.
He also mentioned about the Overseas Management Corporation and how much the State governments’ efforts had helped in preventing people seeking employment abroad from being taken for a ride by agents, which was quite prevalent in the earlier times.
In the last 20 to 25 years the number of people migrating to other countries from the State had gone up considerably and the DMK government was sensitive to the problems that might arise for those going abroad and had solved many issues relating to them, he said.
A photo exhibition explaining the functioning of the department for the welfare of overseas Tamils is also held at the venue, where the Chief Minister M K Stalin would take part in the valedictory on Friday.
