Indo=American News: August 6, 2021

Friday, August 6, 2021 | Vol. 40, No. 32

Indo American News

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August 6, 2021

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Published weekly from Houston, TX

www.indoamerican-news.com

Special Reports Community Briefs Local Politics South Asians in the News

2470 Dairy Ashford, Houston, TX 77077 • 713.789.NEWS (6397) • indoamericannews@yahoo.com

Is the American Dream Replaced by Canada?

‘Mimi’: Unbelievable?

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AAPI’s Covid Relief

P2 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participating in an Indian festival (file photo).

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W E D D I N G S , S P E C I A L E V E N T S , T E N T E D E V E N T S , O U T D O O R C O U R T YA R D

3 3 3 0 F M 1 4 6 3 | Ka t y, T X 7 7 4 9 4 | 8 3 2 . 8 5 5 . 5 5 2 0 | p a l m ro y a l v i l l a . c o m

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COMMUNITY

August 6, 2021

Indian Talent Moving to Canada due to Outdated H-1B Visa Policies

Washington DC: The much sought-after Indian talent is now getting attracted towards Canada in large numbers, away from the United States because of its outdated H-1B visa policy, immigration and policy experts have told US lawmakers.

This is mainly because of the per-country quota on issuing employment-based green card or permanent residency, the experts said on Tuesday, urging the Congress to act fast to prevent the Indian talent from moving to Canada from the United States.

Without Congressional action, the total backlog for all three employment-based categories for Indians would increase from an estimated 9,15,497 individuals currently to an estimated 21,95,795 individuals by fiscal 2030, executive director of National Foundation for American Policy Stuart Anderson said.

“We should let that number sink in: Within a decade, more than 2 million people will be waiting in line for years or even decades for employment-based green cards,” he submitted in his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee-Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

Testifying before the panel on “Oh, Canada! How Outdated US Immigration Policies Push Top

Talent to Other Countries,” Anderson said that highly skilled foreign nationals, including international students, are choosing Canada over America.

“This has happened in response to how difficult it is to work in the United States in H-1B status or gain permanent residence, and the comparative ease of international students and foreign nationals working in temporary status and then acquiring permanent residence in Canada,” he said.

The number of international students from India enrolled in graduate-level computer science and engineering at US universities declined by more than 25 per cent between 2016-17 and 2018-19 academic years, according to an analysis of US government data by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).

To place the significance of the

decline in context, international students represent approximately 75 per cent of the full-time graduate students at US universities in computer science, and in the 201617 academic year, two-thirds of the international students at the graduate level in computer science at US universities were from India.

At the same time fewer Indian students were coming to America, the number of Indian students attending Canadian universities rose from 76,075 in 2016 to 1,72,625 in 2018, an increase of 127 per cent, according to the Canadian Bureau

for International Education, he said.

“In sum, Canada’s immigration policies are much better than America’s for facilitating the entry of talented individuals. Congress established America’s policies in 1990, before smartphones, e-commerce, social media, cloud computing and the daily use of the internet exploded the demand for high-skilled technical labor. The world has changed since 1990. US immigration policy has not,” Anderson said.

The Canadian government has made it increasingly easy for employers to attract and retain talent.

On the other hand, numerical restrictions on high-skilled temporary visas block the vast majority of foreign-born applicants from working in America in a given year, Anderson said.

In March 2021, employers filed 3,08,613 H-1B registrations for

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 06, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

cap selection for FY 2022 for only 85,000 H-1B petitions. “That means over 72% of H-1B registrations for high-skilled foreign nationals were rejected even before an adjudicator evaluated the application,” he said.

Jennifer Young, CEO, Technology Councils of North America, said that fast-growing Canadian companies are permitted to hire highly-skilled foreign talent, or people with skillsets most commonly found among H-1B applicants in the United States, in as little as four weeks, pre-pandemic.

By comparison, the United States immigration system is paperbased, causing nearly all applicants significant delays in processing, she said.

Young said that a former colleague of her, Ketaki Desai, and her husband were both educated in the United States, on student visas. They were fortunate to obtain H-1B status upon graduation and were strong contributors to the US economy. After 18 years and realising their path to permanent residency was looking very bleak, they left the United States for Toronto, Canada. They bought a house and are actively recruiting and helping individuals leave the US workforce and join them in Canada, she told the lawmakers.

-- Times of India

COMMUNITY

August 6, 2021

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India Culture Center’s Celebration of India’s 75th Independence Day Houston: India Culture Center, a proactive community organization of 48 years, with goals to enhance the cultural, health and socio-political sectors of India in Houston is once again celebrating India’s 75th Independence Day in Houston.

On behalf of the India Culture Center Board of Directors, Board of Trustees, and with the support of our partnering organizations, it is my pleasure as the current President to invite you on August 15th, 2021, at the Stafford Center, 10505 Cash Rd, Stafford TX 77477 This celebration will be in person with booths, Awards, and an exclusive presentation of “Building Bridges” & “Weddings of India” by presenting the differences and similarities of ritual celebrations in different states of India.

And we are building bridges with other communities like Jewish, Indonesia, Nepali, and many more.

Our Diversity is our strength, and we wish to live by our motto that “The world is our family”.

Through our diversity, ICC recognizes the need to instill key aspects of our culture in our youth and aims to promote the richness and diversity of the Indian heritage, arts, cultures and foster goodwill, and harmony between different communities and cultures.

The theme of this year is ‘Vibrant India’, and we are going to exhibit

the talents of children from 7 years to seniors of 65yrs and above.

Unity in diversity is what vibrant India is today.

We would kindly request you to become a sponsor of the evening to support ICC. Your donation will be recognized at our event in several ways (the sponsorship package is attached). We hope that we can count on your support.

Date: August 15, 2021 Location: Stafford Center, 10505 Cash Road, 77477 Event and Booth Time: 1 pm

to 7 pm Karaoke: 1 pm to 2:30 pm for all ages ( The audition is every Sunday 10 am to 12 pm on RADIO ICC HOUSTON at 99.5 FM Radio Dabang- Number to call 713.974.4000) Patriotic and Wedding celebrations of India: 2:30 pm onwards *Attire*- Wedding formal in Orange, Green, and/white representing your state or region.

BOOTH- For Small businesses, there is a great opportunity to ad-

vertise your business on a large digital screen in the event. *Booth Registration* - https:// icchoustontx.org/booth/ ICC Vice President Kiran Shah 832.865.2105 Food Booth Event Co-chairDinesh Purohit- 732.593.9650 *Participation*https://form.jotform.com/211690843905156 Reach 713.858.8229 *Sponsorship and Advertisement* 1. If donating by checks?

Check- Payable to INDIA CUL-

In-person VFS Global Visa Services Available

Houston: With effect from 15th July, 2021 VFS Global, the Outsourcing Service Provider for consular services for the Embassy of India and the Consulates General of India in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York and San Francisco will start accepting in-person applications for Passport, OCI, Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) and Global Entry Program (GEP) services at its center with prior appointment only. (The current practice of accepting the applications

by Mail will also continue.)

An applicant is required to visit the VFS Global Website https:// services.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ ind/for online submission of applications (at the Government of India portals) for respective services. Thereafter he/she can make an appointment for in-person submission of applications at the concerned VFS Global Center (Indian Consular Application Centre 1001 Texas Ave, Suite #550, Houston, TX 77002 in case of Houston).

At this stage, the applicant is required to pay the service charge of US$15.90 to VFS Global. Other charges, i.e., the Government of India fee and the ICWF charges and for optional services (e.g. for return courier), if any, will need to be paid at the VFS Center. The applicants are advised to carry all the required documentation to VFS Global as per the check-lists for the respective services at the scheduled time of appointment.

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 06, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

TURE CENTER Mailing address- Mr. Hemant Patel, 15734 Springfield Drive, Sugar land, TX 77498 2. If you have a PayPal account.

Click here to pay.

PayPal.me/ICCHOUSTON 3. You can ZELLE to the email address icchoustontexas@gmail. com.

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August 6, 2021

TAGH: Bonalu with New Scholarship Awards

Houston: Scholarship and cash awards are a great source of motivation for high school students.

Every year the Telangana Association of Greater Houston (TAGH) provides scholarships to high school graduates among its member community. This year was special as there were new scholarship awards, and the award ceremony coincided with Bonalu at the Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir on July 25, 2021.

Bonalu is an annual “Thanksgiving” festival for Goddess Mahakali that is celebrated in greater Hyderabad and many parts of Telangana. The TAGH has organized Bonalu for the past few years, but this year’s event was limited to registrants due to COVID restrictions. However, the event was conducted as per the customary rituals. This year’s event was led

by Surya Bangla and Kavitha Ganta (Cochairs) with strong support from the organizing committee and volunteers.

The TAGH puts great emphasis

on the local community and supporting its member community.

The executive committee led by Raj Gutha created the new TAGH Presidential Scholarship thanks to the generous donation by Ritha and Jithender Reddy. The couple is known for generosity in the Houston community. During the awarding ceremony, Jithender Reddy thanked the TAGH board for creating the high school awards and agreed to contribute all the funds for the TAGH Presidential Scholarship and other scholarship awards. He announced that they will donate scholarship funds to The TAGH for the next five years and will also create a corpus fund that can sustain the scholarship money in the future.

The TAGH awards are given to high school students residing in the greater Houston area and members of the TAGH community. These awards are funded by the contributions of the member community. In addition to the

new donations, this year’s scholarship funds were also supported

by Sreedhar Kanchankuntla. This year’s awardees were Shravya Aparasu for the TAGH Presidential Scholarship, Saureesh Aparasu for TAGH Excellence Award, and Prudvi Raj Kothakonda for TAGH Outstanding Award.

The program ended with boxed prasadam exclusively prepared by Biryani Pot Restaurant. The executive committee is planning to organize Bathukamma in October 2021 based on the COVID situation.

The Telangana Association of Greater Houston (TAGH), a USAregistered non-profit organization, was formed in 2014 year by the Telangana Non-Resident Indians in the greater Houston Area to preserve the cultural identity and contribute to its development. The organization provides a platform for literary, cultural, educational, social, and developmental activities in Houston and in Telangana.

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SPORTS

August 6, 2021

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Spring 2021 TCC Tournament: Powerstars Winners, SLCC Runners Up

Spring TCC tournament winners: Powerstars

Houston: Powerstars were crowned the Champions of TCC Taped Ball Spring 2021 Premier League for their 2nd consecutive championship. SLCC, a 10th time finalist were the runners up. The Finals was a contest between the two of the most deserving teams in the once in a year tournament for Division one teams only.

On a muggy overcast day with a heavy outfield, the crucial toss was won by Powerstars captain Ashwin and they decided to take advantage of the conditions and put SLCC in to bat. Sriram started off in typical fashion for Powerstars by grabbing yet another powerplay wicket, thanks to a welljudged catch by Kalyan to remove Dulaj. Jeevankumar came on to dismiss the dangerous Kusal who was batting with a brisk strike rate close to 130, he was caught behind

by Prashant.

Powerstars bowling changes or-

chestrated by the Ashwin Ravi and Kalyan began making massive inroads into the strong left hand dominated SLCC batting line up.

Up first, Asad Mirza castled Bernard and then Prashanth in a mesmerizing spell of off-spin bowling got rid of Tushara caught by Kalyan. Asad Mirza also got Gihan Fernando to leave SLCC tottering at 42 for 5 in 9 overs. Powerstars had the upper hand walking into the break after 10 overs of the first innings The game moved in a similar pattern post break with Ranil getting runout in the 11th over massively shifting the momentum towards the Stars.

The game defining strikes came in the 17th over from Adithya who initially dismissed Thilan off his first ball in the powerplay, caught

by Kalyan and then got rid of the other set batsmen Janith with a quick delivery, to polish off any

Spring TCC tournament runners up: SLCC

threat that SLCC could pose. From the remaining couple of overs SLCC ended up with a paltry total of 106. Powerstars had contained yet another strong batting line to a below par score to give them a wonderful chance to win back-toback TCC championships.

The second half of the game had very little drama as the Powerstars batting unit put on a very professional display in chase of 106. The initial SLCC attack was thwarted and the top order of Powerstars raced away to 30/2 in 5 overs losing one of the openers Parasu to the tournament’s best bowler Ramesh and Srini who was run out. Jehanzeb (Jazzy) the other opener, who had got his eye in by now was joined by the Prashanth and the duo decided to play in an extremely aggressive mode.

The remaining 80 runs were knocked off in 12.1 overs with a flurry of boundaries to both the

batsmen. Jazzy added a couple of massive sixes to end up with a well compiled 53(29) and Prashant was there to score the winning runs yet again, capping off a tremendous series with the bat, staying not out on 30(26).

Through the entire season, the Powerstars team was impressively well led and managed by Ashwin and Kalyan , both kept the team highly motivated to win back-toback TCC trophies.

The game was followed by a well-organized presentation ceremony hosted by Jagadish Biradar of TCC. Dinesh from Gladiators was thanked for his voluntary contribution in scheduling the tournament.

Umpires Devon and Adnan were presented with umpiring medals.

Ashwin Ravi, captain of Powerstars was awarded the championship trophy and Udesh, captain of SLCC was awarded the runners

up trophy. Jazzy was awarded the MVP of final for an explosive half century.

Tournament awards were also presented during the presentation ceremony. Prashanth from Powerstars won the award for the MVP of the tournament. George from ECC was the best batsman with 306 runs, Ramesh from SLCC was the best bowler with 13 wickets Aradhya from Gladiators was the best All-rounder for 107 runs and 10 wickets. Navin from WOMCC with 17 catches and Rex from Big12 with 16 catches and 1 stumping were the joint winners of best wicketkeeper. Special award for century was presented to Navin from WOMCC Online score card is at https://www. cricclubs.com/3T/viewScorecard. do?matchId=781&clubId=8675 and You tube video is at https:// youtu.be/zG7ZucG-BTU

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August 6, 2021

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COMMUNITY

August 6, 2021

‘Puranava’ Festival at Pearland Town Center Pearland: The third annual “Puranava” Indian Culture Fest is back at the Pearland Town Center. It will be held at the Town Center Pavilion on Saturday, August 14, 2021.

“Pura” means ancient and “Nava” means new or modern. True to its name this festival, which is presented

by Global Organization for Divinity, aims to provide attendees an experience of India’s vibrant, age-old culture which is still an integral part of modern India.

This project is supported by a City of Pearland Cultural Arts Grant program from the City of Pearland Convention & Visitors Bureau.

From 5 pm onwards, there will be cultural arts performances with Indian classical and folk dances and music from different Indian regions, activities including arts, crafts, henna and rangoli, lots of photo ops, Indian food, a bazaar with vendor booths featuring local businesses, and much more. Free Covid vaccine shots will also be offered. This culture fest is a free and open, public event.

As part of this culture fest celebration, there will also be an Indian classical music competition (held online) and a ‘Heritage Vocabulary Bee’ contest (partly online and partly at the event). These competitions are open to participants of all cultural backgrounds.

Competition guidelines and registration info

is available at www.puranava-usa.org.

The culture fest will culminate with a “Universal Harmony Kirtan” and a Prayer for Peace, as special balloons are distributed to everyone.

For more information about Puranava, or to reserve a free vendor booth space, call 281-402-6585. For more information about Global Organization for Divinity, visit houston.godivinity.org or our Facebook page GOD Namadwaar Houston.

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 06, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

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SPORTS

August 6, 2021

Shami, Bumrah Knock Off England for 183

Trent Bridge: India 21 for 0 trail England 183 (Root 64, Bumrah 4-46, Shami 3-28) by 162 runs India took the last seven England wickets for 45 runs to bowl the hosts out for 183 after they won the toss and batted in tough batting conditions. India’s openers knocked off 21 of those without being separated. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, the two senior bowlers in the absence of Ishant Sharma and R Ashwin, took seven wickets between them in 37.4 overs. Once again, Joe Root looked like a level above his batting team-mates, scoring 64 assured runs off 108 balls in an innings that went at 2.78 an over.

England will need to look at five or six wickets that they didn’t make India work hard enough for.

It started early as Rory Burns fell for Bumrah’s two-card trick in the first over in a hectic start.

India the country did not even have time to properly debate the exclusion of Ashwin - who’s in the form of his life - from the XI, to find a combination that fit the conditions and addressed India’s long tail. Ishant had failed a fitness test in the morning.

Bumrah took five balls to change the talking point. Four of them moved gently away from the lefthand opener Rory Burns before the fourth one swung back in. In 2018, when Bumrah got Keaton Jennings in the same fashion, it

might have been a surprise, but by now, experts argue, you have to be expecting that delivery as a lefthand batter and not get beaten as comprehensively as Burns did.

Four balls into the final session, the final delivery of that Shami over, Dan Lawrence tickled one fine down the leg side. Unlucky Shami? Not today. Shami and Bumrah proceeded to toy around with Jos Buttler for 17 balls before Bumrah took the outside edge through to Pant. It didn’t cost India a run.

The pressure created by these two, the low economy rate, meant Shardul Thakur could bowl attacking lines and lengths. He is an incredibly optimistic bowler. His strength is swing, and he continues to bowl full lengths and continues to look to swing it from the stumps. Kohli gave him a man at cover and midwicket to allow that

mode of attack. He started his new spell with a really full outswinger to Root, who played for the swing, but the ball pitched and seamed the other way. Any shorter, and it would have seamed down the leg side. This one trapped him plumb.

Three balls later, Ollie Robinson gifted mid-on some catching practice. Soon Bumrah decided it was “toes day” for nose-or-toes Stuart Broad, trapping him lbw with a full one. At 160 for 9, Sam Curran found time to squeeze in his usual cameo, hitting 27 before a perfect yorker from Bumrah ended the innings with Anderson’s wicket.

It wasn’t an easy 55 minutes for India’s new opening combination of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma.

England drew 17 false responses before stumps, but no edge went towards a fielder and they never got trapped in front. -- ESPN Cricinfo.

India at Tokyo Olympics Tokyo: This was the greatest Ravi Dahiya comeback since Amitabh Bachchan’s Shehenshah.

Scratch that. It was way better since it was real.

The outstanding gas tank of Indian wrestling, Ravi Dahiya, was 2-9 down against Kazakh Nurislam Sanayev in the 57 kg semis.

Ravi was fading out double quick with his opponent rolling him to within one more spin of going out of the semifinals.

It’s when the Indian launched his counter to turn the tables – or both shoulder blades. With a heavy snap on the Kazakh’s shoulder he pinned his opponent. And as the ref counted out, Ravi won by fall.

Deepak Punia lost his Semifinal and will fight in the Bronze medal match tomorrow.

Assam’s Borgohain bagged the bronze in women’s welterweight category after losing 5-0 against

reigning world champion Busenaz Sürmeneli of Turkey in the 69kg semi-finals. Even though she was outplayed, Lovlina became India’s second woman boxer with an Olympic medal after Mary Kom in 2012 London Games.

Neeraj Chopra qualified for the men’s javelin throw finals by topping the Group A qualification with a throw of 86.65m, The Indian women’s team played their hearts out, but suffered a 1-2 defeat against Argentina in the Tokyo Olympics semifinal on Wednesday. They play Great Britain for the bronze play-off on Friday.

Indian men’s hockey team will take on Germany in the bronze medal match on August 5 after Australia handed 2016 Olympic bronze medallists a 3-1 defeat to set up a showdown with Belgium in the final.

NAME CHANGE NOTICEE

I, Shweta, wife of Mrityunjay Kumar, have changed my name to “Shweta Kumar” for all future purposes.

Notice is hereby given that an order filed by the court number 328, Fort Bend County District Court, on the day of 25th June 2021 bearing the case number 21-DCV-284465, a copy of which may be examined at the office of the Fort Bend County district clerk’s office, located at 1422 Eugene Heimann Cir, Richmond, TX 77469; grants me the right to assume the name of “Shweta Kumar”.

The city and state of my present address are “3606 Long Flower Court, Fulshear, TX- 77441”.

The month and year of my birth are 01/04/1984 and place of my birth is Dhanbad, India. My earlier name was “Shweta”.

SONY KOHLI YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT 832-766-6662

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 06, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

ENTERTAINMENT

August 6, 2021

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‘Mimi’ Review: Rarely Feels Believable Catch IAN Radio on FM98.7

By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Kriti Sanon, Sai Tamhankar, Evelyn Edwards, Aidan Whytock, Manoj Pahwa, Supriya Pathak, Atmaja Pandey, Jaya Bhattacharya Director: Laxman Utekar Rating: 1.5 stars ‘Mimi’ begins with a childless American couple shopping for a surrogate in a Rajasthan town. It’s set in 2013, a time when the laws surrounding surrogacy weren’t so strict, so even as you raise your eyebrows at these clueless Yanks (Evelyn Edwards, Aidan Whytock) bumbling about, letting their canny taxi driver (Pankaj Tripathi) turn into friend-philosopher-and guide, you let it slide, hoping for an entertaining ride.

That the film has a clutch of solid acting talent — Supriya Pathak, Manoj Pahwa, Pankaj Tripathi and Sai Tamhankar — gives you hope. And the theme itself has an emotive pull: who does a child belong to, the woman who gives him birth, or the one who raises him as her own?

The moral and ethical questions arising out of a surrogate birth are ones we are still unravelling.

Nature, or nurture? The question never gets old.

But the film, released four days ahead of its date because of an online leak, struggles with keeping it real. And not just because leading lady Sanon acts her way through her role of many shades, but also because the film itself rarely feels believable. Sure, at the time there

was a never-ending stream of foreigners descending upon India (Anand had become world famous for having turned surrogacy into a thriving cottage industry) in search of a surrogate.

But the clunky proceedings — Mimi as the initially reluctantthen-committed participant in this scheme, cooking up tales for her aghast parents, finding refuge with her BFF, a Muslim girl (Tamhankar), leading to supposed comedy are a stretch. So are the accents, which keep slipping.

The reason why they chose Rajasthan is clear from the first song itself: exotic Shekhawat, colourful dances, the outfits — Pahwa, playing Mimi’s father, is always to be seen in a ‘leheriya safa’, and Pathak as the mother, has a massive ‘maang teeka’ adorning her forehead.

At one point, the issue of possible disability raises its head, in a distasteful, insensitive manner: a Downs Syndrome baby is described as ‘maansik roop se viklaang’, and a doctor is heard saying that however much the parents may take precautions, ‘your child turns out to be disabled’.

Finally, the film takes recourse to melodrama, what else, to resolve all its dilemmas.

As tears flow, chests are beaten, minorities are othered, ‘fair’ complexions are remarked upon, and a wholly contrived end finishes up things. -- Indian Express

Here was the guest line-up for Sat, July 31, 2021 from 4 to 6 pm on Indo American News Radio (www.IndoAmerican-news.com) on 98.7 FM and available also on the masalaradio app (www.masalaradio.com).

You can also hear the Podcast of the recorded show uploaded by Monday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public and Breaker.

4:20 pm Dr Dinesh Shukla spent many years in Houston before leaving to manage a Medical center in the Republic of Guinea. He has founded the American Iternational University West Africa in Banjul, The Gambia. He called us LIVE from Gambia to describe what led him to develop the University, the degree program and what life there is like.

4:40 pm The Texas Hindu Camp

Site was recently established in Columbus and to tell us more about the plans and goals were Subhash Gupta and Vivek Shukla.

5:00 pm The real estate market in Austin is sizzling hot and realtor Ajit Giani, who relocated there from Houston to be close to family, called in to tells us what is driving this and which areas are going fast in the state capital.

5:20 pm World traveller and Global Nomad Dan Mayur joined us again with another description from his trips to India, this time in the former princely state of Lucknow.

Also featured was news roundup, views, sports and movie reviews.

IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE FEATURED ON THE SHOW, OR TO ADVERTISE, PLEASE CONTACT US AT 713-789-6397 or at indoamericannews@yahoo.com

Indo American News Founder: Dr. K.L. Sindwani Publisher: Jawahar Malhotra Editor: Pramod Kulkarni Correspondent: Sanchali Basu ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. Deadline for advertising and articles is 4 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 2470 Dairy Ashford, Houston, Texas 77077.

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COMMUNITY

August 6, 2021

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Send us the correct answer before August 11, 2021. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com and send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.

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August 6, 2021

11

AAPI Raises $5 MM towards India’s Covid Relief: 2,300 O2Concentrators, 100 Ventilators to 45 Hospitals

By Ajay Ghosh

Chicago: The deadly Corona virus has claimed millions of lives and it has placed the entire healthcare sector both in India and the United States under tremendous stress. While the Indian American medical fraternity has been at the frontlines of the fight against the pandemic, American Association of physicians of Indian origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic medical organization in the USA representing the interest of more than 100,000 physicians in the USA, has stepped up to the plate to deal with the crisis of India during its second deadly wave.

“The generosity of the members of AAPI and Indian community has been unprecedented,” says Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, President of AAPI. “I want to thank the AAPI fraternity, for not only contributing $5 Million towards Covid Relief Funds, but has spent hundreds of hours in disbursing the vital medical supplies.”

“Thanks to the overwhelming support of its members that AAPI has raised almost $5 million in the past few months,” said Dr. Kusum Punjabi, Chair of AAPI BOT, who has dedicated her services at the Emergency Department, serving thousands of Covid patients in the New Jersey.

“During my entire year of presidency, impacted by the deadly pandemic, AAPI has initiated several efforts to help our Mother India,” recalls Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, Immediate pastpresident of AAPI. “Aptly so, the annual Convention last month in Atlanta was a tribute to frontline healthcare professionals who have devoted their lives and work serving humanity during the COVID19 pandemic,” he added.

Many parts of India continue to face the deadly second wave of COVID-19. Number of reported Covid positive cases seems to be on the rise and thousands report-

Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, President of AAPI.

edly die daily. Hospitals and medical facilities face shortage of oxygen and ICU beds, with patients lacking in adequate care.

“We have been working very diligently in sending oxygen concentrators and ventilators to India, to deal with the calamity in India and are in the process of helping to set up oxygen generator plants in different hospitals in India,” added, Dr. Ravi Kolli, PresidentElect.

Dr. Sujeeth Punnam, AAPI’s Regionasl Director, who has been one of the many AAPI leaders who has been coordinating the efforts said, “Thus far, AAPI has provided 2300 Concentrators, 100 Ventilators and 100 High Flow Nasal Canula Machines To 45 Hospitals In India as part of the Covid Pandemic Relief Efforts.”

As some predict a 3rd wave of the pandemic in India, AAPI has been planning and collaborating with several agencies and the government of India to help reach the much needed care and supplies to the remotest places in India.

“AAPI will continue to use the remaining funds in preparation of the impending Covid 3rd wave,” said Dr. Anjana Samadder,” VicePresident of AAPI. Dr. Satheesh Kathula, Secretary of AAPI said, “AAPI has been

coordinating several efforts, including tele-health to patients and Doctors in India. Thanks to the overwhelming support of its members that AAPI has raised over $5 million.” “The outbreak of Covid 19 has caused significant healthrelated social, political and economic consequences worldwide.

AAPI members have been working very hard in sending medical equipment to India,” Dr. Krishan Kumar, Treasurer pointed out.

“We are discussing about coordinating efforts to make available the much needed vaccines in the Slum areas in Delhi And Hyderabad where compliance is very low and apart from life saving equipment for severe Covid patients management in ICUs,” said Dr. Anil Tibrewal, who has been in the forefront leading AAPI’s efforts to help India during the Covid.

As AAPI cannot direct its resources to specific areas and relies on government of India to distribute its supplies, Dr. Amit Chakrabarty, past Secretary of AAPI and several other AAPI leaders have been working outside of the umbrella of AAPI for direct transfer of the essential material, focusing mainly on the peripheral hospitals who do not get aid readily. HELP INDIA BREATHE is a part of ApShiNi ventures’ endeavor by a group of Doctors in helping individuals to donate Oxygen related supplies to India during this unprecedented calamity.

“The past year, while posing major challenges have also provided opportunities for AAPI to continue to work together in helping realize the mission of AAPI,” said Dr. Gotimukula. “We are proud that several Indian American physicians are recognized globally for their contributions to combat the deadly pandemic. We will continue our efforts and give our best to our Motherland in her fight against the deadly pandemic.” For more information on AAPI, please visit: www.aapiusa.org

Pratham Student Making Olympics History in Hockey

Last Week’s Winners

Sanchali Basu, Ramana Vadrevu, Krishna R. Last Week’s Vuddagiri, Taranjit Singh Winners

Sanchali Basu

Tokyo: The Indian women’s hockey team will be playing Great Britain for the Bronze medal, making Olympics history for India.

Pratham is also celebrating Salima Tete, a member of this extraordinary team and a Pratham student.

Salima hails from a small village in Jharkhand. In 2015, Salima and other girls living in the hockey centre run by the district administration and run by the state government started learning English.

The Pratham Jharkhand team organized English sessions, group discussions, and sports-related conversations with the hockey students daily. The young students also worked on their soft skills like introducing themselves in English and understanding English phrases used in official matches.

Salima Tete playing for team India against Australia in the Olympics.

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 06, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com

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August 6, 2021

Indo-American News • Friday, AUGUST 06, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com