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Abandoned at Calangute, a mentally challenged youth goes home to Nepal after 6 years | Goa News – Times of India

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PANAJI: On January 8, when 20-year-old Mahesh Singh Mehra crossed the 12m-long ‘jhula’ over the Kali from Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh to Nepal with his mother Manmati at around 7pm, it was the end of a six-year-old search to reunite the mentally challenged youth with his family.
From the streets of Calangute, where Mahesh was abandoned by his alcoholic father in 2014, to Apna Ghar—the state childcare home—and then finally to Jhulaghat on the Indo-Nepal border early this month, it was the culmination of a long and arduous mission.
No one knows when Mahesh was brought to Goa by his father, nor was any missing complaint filed. And when Mahesh first entered Apna Ghar, he only spoke Nepali
In 2017, Goa police managed to track down his father, and presented him before the child welfare committee (CWC). Since he was an alcoholic, the father was refused custody of his son.
“We wanted the boy to stay with his family, but since his father behaved so irresponsibly, there was no point giving him custody.,” said a CWC member.
“The comfort and care of a childcare home can’t compensate for a parent’s love and affection,” the CWC member said.
Director of women and child development Deepali Naik said children in their custody are reunited with their family at the earliest, but in his case, the peculiar circumstances meant it took years.
To make matters worse, Mahesh’s father again was untraceable.
Last year, Apna Ghar finally managed to get a phone number to contact Manmati. Juliana Lohar, a co-ordinator for ARZ, a local organisation, made many calls before which she could finally speak to Manmati. It was ARZ that finally traced his family in Nepal.
“The mother was so elated to hear about her son and kept asking me if she would really get to meet him. She had not seen him since he was a child and left for India with her husband,” Lohar said.
She said Mahesh’s father wasn’t in regular touch with his family back home. “If at all he called, it was after several months, and his phone number kept changing. The wife had no knowledge that her son was in Goa,” Lohar said.
Just as efforts to repatriate Mahesh gathered steam, the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and brought everything to a standstill. “All our efforts went into a pause mode,” said an Apna Ghar official.
ARZ then got in touch with an organisation in Uttarakhand to contact Manmati. Someone was then sent to her village to pass on the message.
Manmati was ready to accept Mahesh but couldn’t afford the trip to India. In such cases, Apna Ghar sends the child with escorts, and the child is transferred to the custody of that district’s CWC.
In this case, since the child was a foreign national, it was arranged that his mother would reach the border to claim him.
Mahesh was then sent to Jhulaghat with two escorts from Apna Ghar to complete his repatriation.
A childline coordinator, Laxman Singh Dhami, moved an application for the repatriation, and permission was granted for Mahesh to cross the border on January 8.
But when they finally reached Jhulaghat with Mahesh, what they found was that his name was not on the list of people who were permitted to cross over to Nepal. The border, manned by the Border Security Force, is open only for two hours a day and only those with valid permission can cross over to Nepal.
“By mistake, the office of the tehsildar entered my name instead of Mahesh’s, since I moved the application,” said Dhami.
The prospect that Mahesh wouldn’t be able to go home worried the two escorts, who braved harsh winter conditions and worried about Covid-19 or that Mahesh could fall sick.
“Then a BSF commander visited the border for crowd management,” one of the escorts told TOI.
“We narrated Mahesh’s plight, and told him that we have come all the way from Goa. He called the other side of the border and directed that Mahesh’s mother be sent over to the Indian side, while the passage of other people was kept on hold.”
Finally, at around 7pm, as the whole crowd and BSF personnel watched, and after six years, Mahesh went home with his mother.

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Broke Swiggy guy walks 3 km to deliver food, Social media helps him find better job. Heartwarming story is viral

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Social media can be a wondrous place at times. While on most days, its ugly face is on display, on days like today, it sets examples of the power of kindness. In a social media post, a LinkedIn user shared how a delivery executive, in need of money and a better job, bagged one after the users on the platform came together to help the person out.

Priyanshi Chandel, Marketing Manager at tech company Flash, shared an incident about a Swiggy delivery agent who had come to deliver food at her residence. When she asked the late and out-of-breath delivery person, identified by her as Sahil Singh, about what happened, he told her that he had no transport and had to walk 3 km to deliver the order.

He also said that he was out of money and had nothing left to pay his landlord too. Singh told her that he was not looking for money from her but requested her to help him bag a job. He said that he had a degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering, and had worked with Byju’s and Ninjacart before. He had to move back to Jammu during the pandemic.

“I have not eaten for a week, just drinking water and tea to get by. I am not asking for anything, please if you can find me a job, I used to make 25k before, I am 30 years old, my parents are getting old and I can’t keep asking for money from them (sic),” Chandel quoted saying.

She also shared his marksheets and contact number for people to help. His details shared show that he is a 2018 BTech graduate from Mewar University, and completed his schooling from the Jammu and Kashmir state board.

After she shared the details, the comments section was filled with people who stepped up to help. While someone recharged his Yulu account so that he did not have to walk around to deliver food, someone offered a place to stay. Many offered to help him with his applications, while some offered jobs too.

Chandel, later on put an update on the post, and said that he received a job.

However, so far it is unclear what job he has received.

2023 has so far been a year of job losses, an eventual outcome of the pandemic and increased hiring by tech companies. For instance, the SSC MTS 2023 recruitment exam that took place in Uttar Pradesh in May saw over 55 lakh applications for Group D jobs. Numerous candidates who applied for positions such as peon, watchman, gardener had educational backgrounds like BTech, MBA, and Master’s degrees.

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Goa CM, NRI Commissioner writes to MoEF for help in safe return of Goans from Ukraine

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Panaji: Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday urged Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar to help in safe return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

Sawant tweeted “we are concerned about the Goans in Ukraine who are considering to return to India in the light of ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. I request Union Minister for External Affairs @DrSJaishankar ji for help in the safe return of Goans. I am keeping track of the situation.”

The chief minister’s tweet comes hours after Goa’s NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar wrote to the Union External Affairs ministry seeking help in return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

“Many Goans are currently residing in Ukraine due to various purposes including higher studies and due to the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, I have started receiving requests for help and assistance from them to return back to India,” Sawaikar wrote.

The Commissioner further wrote in the letter that advisories have already been issued by the Ministery of External Affairs to Indians currently in Ukraine and our Indian Mission in Kyiy is currently handling the matter.

“Striking note of urgency, the Government of India has recently asked the family members of Embassy officials in Ukraine as well as students and citizens whose stay is not vital , to leave the Eastern European nation amid it’s raising tensions with Russia,” the letter reads.

Sawaikar wrote that the Goans in Ukraine are in touch with this office as they are anxious to temporarily return till the situation normalizes.

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Election Commission announces polling dates and counting days for Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states

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On Saturday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 States, namely, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

While briefing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra informed that the elections in the poll-bound States will commence from February 10, 2022, to March 7, 2022. Elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in 7 phases, followed by Manipur with 2 phases. Elections in Goa, Uttarkhand and Punjab will be conducted in a single phase.

According to the Election Commission of India, the votes will be counted on March 10, 2022. ECI informed that all physical campaigning will be ceased until January 15, 2022, in light of the rising cases of Coronavirus.

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