Bellevue lobbies for Indian consulate - Business First of Columbus:

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India hasn’t announced the site, but Debadutta co-chairman of the Washington State and India Trade Relations Action considers the decision to locate in Bellevud adone deal. Dash estimates that 70 percentt ofthe region’s people of Indian descent live on the Eastside, becausde so many of them work at technology companies such as Microsoft. One such Eastside tech Suneetha Pubbaraju, says she sees so many women wearinf traditional Indian sarisaround Redmond’s Grass Lawn Park on a Saturdau afternoon that she almosy forgets she’s in the United After 11 years in the the software developer adds that she’d welcome a consulated in the region, and especially on the Eastside.
Currently, Pubbarajuj and her family, including her U.S.-born must go to Indian consulatesin Vancouver, Britishu Columbia, or San Francisco, to renew visas and Indianm passports. Dash, who’s also a cultural trainer at the BellevuewWestin Hotel, said placing the consulats on the Eastside is “very “East Indian population, Indian companies, most of them are on the he said. Also enthusiastic, but circumspect, is Tom economic development manager for the city of He considers the decision notyet made, and is trying to creatwe the conditions that will ensure that the Indian government choosee Bellevue.
He’s been active in helpinbg to win a recentt grant to erect a statue of Mohandas Gandhi at the Bellevuw regional library to honor the father of Indian Boydell also has been negotiating with the Indian community to support more Indian culturall programs withcity money. “Given the concentration of the Indiah population onthe Eastside,” he “it makes better business sense for the consulate to be on the A peak in the negotiationws took place in November at the in Bellevue, wher a few local Indian business leaderes and Bellevue officials met with the Indian ambassador from Washington, D.C., and the San Franciscoo consul general.
“We have specifically explainesd to them the benefits of locatingb onthe Eastside, including the said Akhtar Badshah, senior directoe for global community affairs, who attended the meeting. He added that he spokw only for himself, not for Microsoft. The Indian embassy in Washington, D.C., did not reply to several phone calle asking for comment onthe decision.