Governor N.N. Vohra, President of Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), J&K, felicitated civil, State and Central Police Forces, Army, Industry and civil society members who have been providing unstinting support to the Red Cross movement and contributed significantly to the successful organization of the Red Cross Mela which was recently held at Jammu. The felicitation function was held at the Raj Bhavan.Governor welcomed Sh. Avinash Rai Khanna, Vice-Chairman IRCS National Head Quarters, New Delhi, who had come especially to participate in this function. Lauding Dr. Pawan Kotwal, Chairman of the Jammu IRCS and his team for their sustained efforts in promoting the activities of the Red Cross Society, Governor emphasized the need for the Society’s activities extending to all parts of the State. He urged all the Deputy Commissioners to dovetail Red Cross activities with the local festivals so that the largest number of people get acquainted with and appreciate the noble objectives of the Red Cross movement.Governor thanked all the sponsors, individuals and organizations who had extended support for making the Red Cross Mela 2017 a high success. He observed that Red Cross needs to organise activities in the Kashmir and Ladakh regions by holding similar events. Sh. Khanna urged the Deputy Commissioners to sensitize officers about the Red Cross activities during their official meetings and stressed the need to train people in Disaster Management and for providing First Aid. He advised the Red Cross J&K to increase the number of Life Members in the State and asked the Chief Education Officers of all the districts to spread awareness about Red Cross among students during the morning assemblies in the schools.Dr. Kotwal gave a brief account of the activities of Red Cross in Jammu and informed that in 2016 more than 1500 people had been given First Aid training and in this year efforts will be made to enhance this number by training government employees and students. He further informed that during this year’s Red Cross Mela a record collection of more than Rs 65 lakh was generated through sale of Raffle Draw tickets and this money will be used for Red Cross activities in the State. He stated that Red Cross Jammu will take up modernization of its Pathological Lab for conducting specialized blood tests for poor patients at minimum prices and start a mobile unit for providing dental hygiene at the village level.
The Governor presented Appreciation Awards to Dr. Pawan Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Sh. Ram Awtar, IG BSF;Sh. S.D. Singh Jamwal, IGP Jammu, Zone ; Sh. SLC Khup, DIG CRPF, Jammu; Brigadier Romit Mehta, 162 Infantry Brigade; Ms. Sheetal Nanda, Deputy Commissioner Samba; Mr. Niraj Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Udhampur; Sh. Ravinder Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Reasi; Sh. Mohammad Aijaz, Deputy Commissioner Ramban; Sh. Ghulam Nabi Balwan, Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar; S. Manmohan Singh, Commissioner Jammu Municipal Corporation; Sh. Sunil Gupta, Vice-President, J&K Bank, Zonal Office, Jammu; Sh. S. Sambanna, Deputy Commissioner K.V Sangathan, Jammu; Mr. Balbir Singh, Chief Education Officer, Kathua; Mr. Bishan Singh, Chief Education Officer, Udhampur; Sh. Ram Paul, Chief Education Officer, Kathua; Sh. Narinder Singh Bali representing Deputy Commissioner Doda; Sh. Rajesh Baru, Tehsildar Thakarakote, Reasi; Sh. Sachin Jamwal, Assisstant Commissioner General representing Deputy Commissioner, Jammu; Sh. Rakesh Gupta, President Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Jammu; Mr. Ashok Gupta, Managing Director, ASL Tutorials; S. Attar Singh, M/S Attar Sweets Store, Jammu; Sh. Satish Gupta, M.D. Surya Milk; Sh. Ravi Ranjan represented Mr. S.K. Bansal of M.D. Saraswati Plasto Tech; Col. Rattan Singh (Retd.) on behalf of Mrs. Gunjan Rana of Jamkash Vehicleades, Mrs. Arunima Sinha, Senior Faculty Art of Living; Sh Dinesh Gupta, Sh. Vikram Gujral; Sh. Neeraj Anand; Sh. Surinder Mahajan, Sh. S.C. Bali, Sh. O.P. Sharma, Mrs. Madhavi Sharma- All Members of the Executive Committee IRCS, Jammu; Dr. M.L. Sharma, Dr. Rajinder Thappa, both Senior Consultants; Sh. Chander Shekhar, Visualizer Designer, Sh. Ram Kumar, Event Videographer; Mr. M.S Rather, General Secretary, IRCS, J&K State Branch; and Mr. R.C. Puri, Secretary, IRCS.The Awards were received on behalf of Deputy Commissioner Kathua;.Deputy Commissioner Rajouri and late Sh. B.B. Raina, former Member of the Executive Committee, IRCS Jammu.Mr. Umang Narula, Principal Secretary to the Governor was present on the occasion.