JEDDAH, 31 December 2002 — K.M. Kartha assumed charge as the consul (counselor) at the Consulate General of India yesterday. He succeeds K.K.K. Dhillon who returned to India at the end of his term. Shiv Lal Sagar joined recently as consul community welfare. Earlier, he was in Bahrain for three years until two months ago, serving the Indian Embassy in different capacities. Prior to that he worked at the UN desk in the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi and was also passport officer in the capital for three years. He succeeds Rashid Khan who has been transferred to New Delhi. (KSR)