Mix with Maharashtrians for progress, South Indians urged

MUMBAI, December 16: A week-long convention of South Indians which concluded at Vasai during the week-end has called for South Indians to m...

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MUMBAI, December 16: A week-long convention of South Indians which concluded at Vasai during the week-end has called for South Indians to mix with those from Maharashtra to reap benefits from the state and work towards its progress.

The convention was presided by former member of Lok Sabha Ram Naik and O Rajgopal, Member of Parliament and deputy leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha was the chief guest for the convention, which was attended by hundreds of South Indians, especially those from southern most state of Kerala.

Addressing the delegates and underlining the need for their betterment, Rajgopal who had come down specially from Chennai for the conference, said that the South Indians should mingle with Maharashtrians. He dealt with the problems faced by those from Kerala, and said that more than 25 lakh Keralites stayed in and around Mumbai.

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It was decided to form a committee to tackle the problems of the South Indians in Mumbai and surrounding regions. The need for a larger federation which would coordinate the activities of the various associations of South Indians was also mooted at the seminar.

The representative south Indians who spoke at the venue expressed the need to set up panels to take up their grievances with the state government. They stated that problems faced by the South Indians include their admissions to educational institutions, reservations, and facilities on trains bound southward. Raman Pillai Somu, former president of the BJP from Kerala, was also present for the convention.