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Asian Voice - Saturday 23rd June 2012
Dee Katwa
Midland Voice Contact: Dhiren on 07970 911 386 or dhiren.katwa@abplgroup.com
Asian Achievers honoured An entrepreneur from Coventry, a top rank policeman and a veteran diversity tsar were among award winners at a ceremony in Manchester last Friday. I was among the over 300 guests. The proud parents and 74-year-old grandmother of Riz Navsarka from Coventry stood up and clapped rapturously as he went on stage to collect his Young Entrepreneur of the Year trophy. Riz, 27, started his business MesmerEyes Cosmetics whilst at Coventry University and turned a £200 university loan into a multi-million pound company in less than five years. In 2010, Riz was award recipient of this same title at our Asian Achievers Awards. Also honoured on the night
News in Brief Stop-search ‘imbalance’ West Midlands Police stopped and searched a higher proportion of black, Asian and mixed-race people than whites, according to a new paper from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. In defence, the force’s assistant chief constable Garry Forsyth said: “All stops and searches are conducted ethically, impartially and objectively. The force is not complacent about the potential mistrust that can arise from perceived discrimination in the way the powers are applied.”
Travellers ignore advice
Winner: Ashit Kumar Sinha
were Atul Pathak, one of the UK’s most successful franchise entrepreneurs. He established his first McDonalds franchise in 2003 and today runs a
Coming soon: Citizen Khan Citizen Khan, a new TV sitcom, is soon to be screened on BBC One. It’s a family comedy set in the capital of British Pakistan – Sparkhill, Birmingham - a city with a one million population, of which 10% are of Pakistani origin. Created by Asian Network presenter and friend of the elite, Adil Ray, the character, Mr Khan is a larger than life character, a proud man with strong opinions and big dreams, which usually lead to even bigger problems. The challenges he faces are those of many families – how to make ends meet, keep his wife and daughters happy and impress the neighbours. Things would be so much easier if everyone just listened to him and followed his lead, but his family and friends usually have other ideas. The cast includes Bhavna Limbachia, pictured, from Lancashire, and Maya Sondhi, who play the feisty daughters Alia and Shazia respectively. Coming soon!
Teen jumps to his death An inquest has opened into the death of a tragic Birmingham teenager who fell 100 feet from a multistorey car park. Shoaib ‘Shebby’ Nadeem, 17, suffered fatal injuries after falling from the top of Moat Lane Car Park, in Digbeth, just after 3.35pm last Monday. Shoaib, pictured, spent four hours sitting on the ledge of the car park as police negotiators desperately tried to talk him down. But he fell to his death within minutes of sick onlookers encouraging him to jump. Shoaib, who was buried last Friday, had left heartbreaking final messages on Twitter, the day before the tragedy. One said: “Ok, this is goodbye from me, forever, I wish you all a good life, take care x.”
Visa for India: Red, amber or green? Obtaining a visa for India can be an experience, a terrible one too, as applicants keep telling me. Well yes, I know, but I thought things were slightly better now. Apparently not. In an attempt to gain assurance and satisfaction that the situation isn’t as bad now as travellers tell me it is, I emailed a week ago, again last Thursday, an enquiry to Mr RR Swain, acting Indian Consul in Birmingham. Usually prompt in his replies, Mr Swain has not responded. Perhaps he’s on a welldeserved break and was too rushed off his feet to put his ‘out of office’ on, or do a handover. Maybe he’s preparing lines to take. But let me not speculate. Readers: do email me your positive, or otherwise recent experiences of trying to obtain a visa, PIO, OCI.
chain of restaurants across London. Shabir Hussain, the managing director of Akbar’s was presented with the Restaurant of the Year trophy. Septuagenarian Ashit Kumar Sinha, President of Manchester Cultural and Diversity Association, was recognised for his longstanding contribution to diverse communities. Nadeem Mir, Chief Inspector with Greater Manchester Police was presented with a Special Award in the Uniform category. Excellent stage performances by show-
cased by Deepa Ganesh and her team at Upasana Dance Academy, as well as by Kajal Sharma Dance Academy. The event was organised by Anasudhin Azeez, managing director, and his team at Asian Lite, the newspaper, to mark its fifth anniversary and was held at Sheridan Suite, the postcode of which no SatNav recognises. Photo: Riz on the night with his parents, left, Ahmed and Bilkiss, brother Abdullah, aged 7, and grandmother Aminaben.
A ‘boozy’ Indian fundraiser Midlanders may want to venture to Hertfordshire next month for a charity Indian folk dance event. The garba and dandiya night on July 7 hopes to raise much needed funds for the Kamla Foundation, a charity whose vision is to see an India where “all people can live in dignity, free from hunger, deprivation and marginalisation”. Its patron is Baroness Jill Pitkeathley OBE, pictured, a veteran social worker. A year’s supply of Cobra Beer as the top raffle prize, highlighted in bold on the e-flyer, seems to be a lure to the event. But, alcohol, should it even feature at such events, where respect is usually observed, globally, and given they tend to be dedicated to Hindu goddesses?
Brum CEO swimming in cash Stephen Hughes of Birmingham City Council appears not to want ordinary citizens to contact him by telephone. He is the only chief executive, of all local authorities in the Midlands, who chooses not to feature his direct dial on the council website. Yet, he doesn’t mind, presumably, for taxpayers to pay his £233,097-a-year salary – that’s just over £90,000 more than David Cameron. This should dispel the myth that local government workers are swimming in cash – which is based on king-sized salaries paid to the likes of Mr Hughes, pictured, and his 46 other director and assistant director colleagues. In all fairness, Mr Hughes always has a full diary, irrespective of season. But what exactly does he do, does anyone know?
Swear on it Swearing is the most difficult habit to break, beating the likes of drinking too much caffeine, smoking, and chewing finger nails, according to a poll. More than a quarter (26%) of the 600 people questioned in the survey by ECigaretteDirect said that using too many expletives was their biggest vice.
One in three holidaymakers ignores medical advice when they set off for foreign climes, according to a new survey. Male travellers are less likely than women to follow doctor’s orders, while 18-24-yearolds are the age group most likely to ignore their doctor’s advice.
Pen on sale at £27,500 A rare pen designed by a Birmingham graduate has gone on sale at Harrods in London. Encrusted with 76 diamonds and made with 18 carat white gold, the pen costs £27,500 and is an innovative creation by Jack Row, 26, who graduated from Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery three years ago.
Cutback on free bus travel Proposals have been unveiled by Birmingham City Council to axe free bus travel for 1,000 faith school pupils from September 2013. Free transport for faith schools is a discretionary service, and there is also no legal requirement for the authority to fund travel for post-16 students. The council currently provides free home to school transport for 4,000 pupils, and funds bus passes for a further 2,600 youngsters.
Health risks A “worrying” number of people in their 60s are ignoring their health, a new study has found. Almost a third of sexagenarians put off visiting their GP because they think problems will simply go away.
Royal honour for Yann A well-deserved British Empire Medal has been bestowed on Yann Rufus Lovelock, a Buddhist from Sparkhill in Birmingham, as part of the latest Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Yann, pictured, who sits on the Executive Board of Birmingham Interfaith Council, was honoured for his services to community cohesion and inter-faith relations in the West Midlands. Yann and his wife Ann have been tirelessly and selflessly serving diverse communities in Birmingham for years. Separately, Peter Hay, strategic director for adults and communities at Birmingham City Council has been awarded a CBE for his services to social and health care. Commenting on Mr Hay’s CBE, Unison, the union’s West Midlands regional secretary Ravi Subramanian said: “We think the Queen has been badly advised about this award. He seems to have been rewarded for a number of failures.”
Cash incentive for ‘troubled’ families Almost 8,000 “troubled families” in the West Midlands are to each receive payments of up to £4,000 as part of the government’s latest scheme designed to stamp out antisocial behaviour. The cash will be targeted at families where a child under 18 has committed an offence in the last 12 months, or where anyone in the family has received an ASBO or similar order in the past 12 months. The government estimates that there are 4,180 “troubled families” in Birmingham, as well as 740 in Dudley, 1,115 in Sandwell, 335 in Solihull, 795 in Walsall and 810 in Wolverhampton.