Rotary Central ka Prarambh– PDG Raj Kumar Rajgaria reminisces

Meeta LakhotiaEditor

Manoj MehtaSecretary

Sudip SenPresident

Jhulan BasuDistrict Governor

ToDay is fRiDay auGusT 14, 2015 | Vol 32 | No 7 www.rccentralcal.org

We meet on friday at The oberoi Grand at 6.30pm for 7.00pm

Today’s Programme

Charter Celebrations – Felicitation of Charter members and Past Presidents

A U G U S T I S M E M B E R S H I P M O N T H Share this publication with people you would like to invite to Rotary

It was a few ex-Rota-ractors of Belur Club who had organized a WALKATHON from

Calcutta Unversity in aid of and creat-ing Awareness for Rotary Hospital at Sector V on 6th March, 1983. It was inaugurated by Cinema personality Ms Aparna Sen. The program was so suc-cessful, that new participants were still going though the forefront participants were reaching the Finishing Point of the 5 KM Walk. The DG Amiya Shankar Gupta was very pleased and asked these ex Rotaractors, what they wanted in lieu of the successful program. “A new Rotary club” – pat came the reply. Then President of RC Calcutta, S S Kanoria immediately agreed to sponsor the new

club over the phone to the DG. In those days, Sponsoring / Forming a new club was not so easy. Rotary Calcutta and particularly Late PDG Saral Deb was keen to have a mature and seasoned person to be a Charter President. Mr M K Mazumdar, Chairman of MSTC was selected as President and myself as Charter Secretary.On 16th August, 1984, the date is also fa-mous for the Largest harness racing purse ($2,161,000-Nihilator wins $1,080,500) & NASA launches Ampte and Central Cal-cutta was born with 27 as Charter mem-bers. The club celebrated it’s Charter Ceremony at New Kenilworth Hotel on 18th January, 1985 in a glittering func-tion. I end with these lines...

“jo milna chaho mujhse toh dekh lena apne dil mein jhaank karek hum hi hum tumhe khwaabon mein nazar aayenge !!!!!”

Reach Out wishes a very Happy Independence Day to all its readers

On this occasion of Independence Day let us celebrate because remember... Freedom is not Free... It is worth the price...

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Flood relief at RCCsP E S A N j A y G A N E R I w A l A

I am pleased to report that we suc-cessfully completed the RCC flood relief project pursuant to the most

deserved cry of our several RCC villag-es. It all started with a distress call from RCC Sarada and soon followed by RCC Dakshindihi and RCC Bhanderhati. Since the matter seemed to be very ur-

gent involving a big amount, I immedi-ately sent out an appeal to all members for monetary contributions of Rs 2500 or Rs 5000 by SMS, WhatsApp and Emails followed by personal calls. We collected over Rs 1,55,000 in 24 hours time but it is heartening that within a short span of time more than 40 members came for-

Donors for Flood Relief

Thank you!

Rs 500 contributed by Madhu Sudan Saraf

Rs 2500 contributed by PP Ajay Agarwal, PP Prakash Bhadani, PP Rajendra Bagrodia, PP Pradeep Murarka, Ajay Kejriwal, Amarnath Sanganeria, Dinesh Jhunjhunwala, Dinesh Bhatter, Girish Ganeriwa-la, Madhav Prakash Mohta, Manoj Rathi, Manoj Jain, Neeraj Agraw-al, Raj Bagri, Shri Vardhan Modi, Sudip Sen, Sunil Kumar Sethia, Sunjay Somani

Rs 5000 contributed by PP Binod Khaitan, PP Vijay Bagaria, PP Subhas Kankaria, PP Brij Mo-han Lakhotia, PP Pushpraj Ma-heswari, PP Prasan Lohia, PP Shri Ratan Jhawar, PP Subir Poddar, IPP Rajesh Lakhotia , Akhil Band-hu Paul, Amit Rungta, Ananda Basu, Aparna Mukherjee, Avinash Bubna, Brij Gopal Kothari, Manoj Mehta, Pramod Dhandhania, Ra-jendra Kumar Mundra, Rajesh Agarwal, Rajiv Chamaria, Sanjay Kumar Ganeriwala, Vivek Phumra

Total collectionRs 155,500.00

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Snippets Members

ward. I reported this to President Sudip who was outstation. He sanctioned an-other Rs 1,00,000 from the club Trust Fund and the project started...We purchased 6000 kg of rice, directly from a rice mill in Burdwan and 450 tarpaulins, again from a manufacturer, to be divided and distributed equally within the three RCCs. Dates were fixed for the visit to each RCC which was an-nounced to members for joining... On 6th August 2015, we visited RCC Sarada. I along with Secretary Manoj Mehta, PP Shri Ratan Jhawar, and PP Manoj Jain went with the relief mate-rials. Our RCC co-ordinator Sri Bablu had identified and given tokens to about 400 villagers for 5 kg rice each and 150 villagers for tarpaulins. On 8th August 2015, we visited RCC Bhanderhati. Again I along with Secre-tary Manoj Mehta, PP Brij Mohan Lak-

hotia, PP Manoj Jain and Madhav Mo-hta went with the relief materials. Our RCC co-ordinator Sri Swapan Mukherjee had given tokens to about 650 villagers for 3kgs rice each and 150 villagers for tarpaulins. Felicitation for our members

was done and PP Brij delivered a short speech to the villagers and we started distribution. I carried Poppins which we enjoyed distributing to children. I must mention we had a great time travelling too with PP Brij driving his SUV and car-rying the relief material.

PP Meeta Lakhotia: Lord Vishnu the preserver appears in his avatars only rarely but he confers the opportunity to serve to all, but few avail of it. Service to mankind is akin to doing God’s work and lucky are those who do it. Thankfully we as Rotarians are presented with opportunities to serve in abundance and we make ourselves lucky by choosing to participate in hands on service. Sanjay leads in soaking in blessings and led some other members too.

PP Manoj Jain: I went to 2 RCCs and it was really a great experience and felt so touched as atleast we could do something for those under-privileged during the crisis hour of flood. Thanks Rotary for giving me this opportunity...Madhav Mohta: Felt self satisfac-tion in co-ordinating and handing over relief material directly to the affected families courtesy RCC.Vikas Jain: The Green fields full of

paddy which used to be a normal scene, were all fully submerged under the flood waters defined the tragedy befallen on the villagers. The relief material distrib-uted by RCCC seemed like oasis in the desert to the crestfallen villagers.PP Brij Lakhotia: Water, water and more water, till the horizon one could see water, submerged trees and huts. Paddy fields were all gone... total loss of crops besides mammoth hard-ships faced by people. Lucky that I could go with Team Central ably led by PE Sanjay and could lend a hand of service in distribution of Rice and Tarpaulins.

On 9th August 2015, we visited RCC Dakshindihi. I along with President Sudip, PP Shri Ratan Jhawar and Rtn Vikas Jain had planned to go. In the morning PP Subhash Kankaria called up to say he was also coming along. We started with Subhashji in his SUV self driven by him. As we drove a little on the highway, Rtn Pramod Dhandhania called up that he along with Rtn Prad-ip Jain will join us too and they met us at Dankuni. Sri Khelaram Pal had or-ganised two camps in his RCC where

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at RCCs... continued

the materials were distributed. He had arranged lunch for us at his house, which we all enjoyed. We visited our Bright Academy School in Rampara on our way. We also visited our sponsored Dairy Farm.This was my first project in RCC and it definitely brought me closer to Rotary. I shall only be too happy to serve, God forbid, in any such distress call by our

Rotary Calcutta Mahanagar request the pleasure of the company of all members of Rotary Central Calcutta to meet some of the beneficiar-ies of IOL transplants supported by your Club at Hari Charan Garg

Rotary Netralaya on 16th August, 2015 at 10.30am. Special Invitation to PP Binod Khaitan and PP Subhash Kankaria, who are Guests of Honour.

This is my humble request to all of you to contribute to Rotary Foundation a sum of at least $ 100. Your contribu-tions will enable us to do our projects in a more fruitful manner and help us in getting the Global Grants which are required for our ongoing projects and all the other projects which may be taken up. This minimum contribution is also prescribed in our Club Bye Laws and you all will agree that we cannot do any project without the availability of Funds. Please send in your contribu-tions at the earliest. Higher generous contributions are always welcome. I am thankful to members who have al-ready sent in their contributions.Thanks and Regards,Ajay KejriwalDirector Foundation, 2015-16

1. As this payment of $100 is required by our byelaws, can we raise some kind of bill for this on the members like our subscription bill either from the club a/c or trust a/c?As payment is a Charitable Donation and recommended to be paid to ‘Rotary Foundation (India)’, bill from club or Trust cannot be raised but a suitable let-ter can be drafted & sent to all Members.

2. Does this payment entitle the mem-bers to get 80G benefits?RFI is a Trust Registered under IT Act for 80G. Thus contributions are entitled to 80G benefit.

3. If members can send payment through the club instead of sending di-rectly then we can have a better control on the amount sent. If sending directly saves the additional 5% payable as per revised guidelines of the Foundation then we have to find some alternative way.Payment to the Project Bank Account is certainly possible and would save 5% ex-tra payable for Projects submitted after 1st July’15. However, in case contribu-tions are made into the Project Bank Ac-count, the contributing Member would NOT be entitled to TRF Recognition.

4. Do we have any data of how much payment was collected by the club last year from members on this a/c?This data and much more is accessible on RI Website through ‘My Rotary’ to the Club President, Club Secretary & Club Foundation Chair - yourself. However, President or Secretary needs to Register your name online.

poor brothers and sisters in the RCC vil-lages, who always look upon us for the little help we do. While thanking each member who contributed either by cash or by visiting RCC, request them to al-ways come forward and contribute with whatever help they can.It may be noted that distribution was done on all 3 days in our presence and also by our hands

Some questions on TRF asked by Foundation ChairRtn Ajay Kejriwal as answered by PP Binod Khaitan

A n A p p e A lTill now the following members have already send in their contributions.G/G#1526607: Our contribution $2453

PP Binod Khaitan $53

IPP Rajesh Lakhotia $1000

PP Brij Mohan Lakhotia $100

PP Meeta Lakhotia $100

PP Vijay Bagaria $100

President Sudip Sen $100

Madhav Prakash Mohta $100

Ajay Kejriwal $100

Pradip Jain $100

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AnInvitation

The meeting started on time with PE Sanjay Ganeriwala as anchor. PP Brij Lakhotia & Madhav Mohta spoke about the project done at Mentaid and PP Manoj Jain invited members to attend the Char-ter Nite. Ajay Kejriwal introduced the Speaker, Nikhil Kothari who spoke on eye donation, PP Vijay Bagaria introduced speaker Dr Ro-hit Jain who spoke on Dental Care & Oral Hygiene. Mementos were presented to Guest speaker Rtn Nikhil Kothari by PP Brij Mohan Lakhotia, to Guest Speaker Dr. Rohit Jain by PP Rajendra Bagrodia and to the Anchor PE Sanjay Ganeriwala by Treasurer Girish Gan-eriwala. A formal vote of thanks was delivered by PP Manoj Jain.

Presidential Conference on Literacy and Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) in Schools will be held on 12-13 March, 2016 at Kolkata. The conference is open to Rotary members and non-members. The conference will feature engaging speakers, informative plenary sessions, and hands-on workshops. Attendees will have the op-portunity to network with fellow leaders and take away new ideas and strategies to put into action. Visit the conference websites to learn more about the program and register to attend.

Rotarian Action Groups help Rotary clubs and districts plan and carry out community development and human-itarian service projects in their area of expertise. The groups are organized by Rotarians and Rotaractors who are pro-ficient, and have a passion for service, in a particular field.HOW ROTARIAN ACTION GROUPS OPERATE Each group functions inde-pendently of Rotary International es-tablishing its own rules, dues require-ments, and administrative structure. Membership is open to Rotarians, their family members as well as participants and alumni of all Rotary and Founda-

PP Prem Lihalaattended the Charter Presentation of Rotary Calcutta Presidency

2015-16 Presidential Conference

R O TA R I A N A C T I O N G R O U P S

last Rotary weekly Meeting through the lens...

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R O v I n gAmbassador

RoTaRy InFoRmaTIon

tion programs. Rotarian Action Groups must adopt Rotary International’s standard bylaws and operate in accord-ance with Rotary policy. Rotarian Ac-tion Groups regularly collaborate with clubs and districts on service projects in their area of specialty. Rotarian Ac-tion Groups can help clubs and districts obtain funding or other assistance for their service projects. BENEFITS OF ROTARIAN ACTION GROUPS By joining a Rotarian Action Group, you can engage in meaningful service activ-ities outside your own club, district, or country. By partnering with a Rotarian Action Group, your club or district gains

the support of experts for planning and implementing a project. TAKE AC-TION: www.rotary.org/actiongroups

F o R T h C o m I n gClub Programmes15th Aug: Flag hoisting ceremony at Rotary Siksha Kendra. Assembly at Su-per Snack Bar, New Alipore at 8.30 am. Departure for RSK at 8.45 am sharp. Flag Hoisting at 9.30 am. Departure back home at 10.30 am.23rd Aug: Blood donation camp by Ashok Laboratories at Chetla Sarbas-adharaner Durgotsav, Prasannamoy-

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Edited by PP Meeta Lakhotia & published by Hony Secretary Manoj Mehta on behalf of RC Central Calcutta. For private circulation only

Happy Birthday to

PP Chittaranjan Choudhary15 August

PDG Raj Kumar Rajgaria 15 August

Sunil Kumar Sethia16 August

Arvind Bhatnagar19 August

Vivek Phumra20 August

I my Kolkata

Howrah Bridge

Finishing touches being given by workers for opening on 3 February 1943. Old Pontoon Bridge built by Bradford Leslie in 1874, dismantled in March for large War supply ships to pass upstream on river Hooghly.

Majestic Howrah bridge

This ReachouT is sponsoRed by PP Manoj jain

ee Ghat from 10 am onwards. Health checkup for senior citizens will be done by renowned Dr PK Pooviah. The project is co-sponsored by Gayatri Projects Ltd.28th Aug: RWM. Guest Speaker Mr Sudipto Saha. Topic “Introduction of

Club Programmes conttinued... Bandhan Creations and its Products”.11th Sep: RWM followed by Club Assembly.Date to be notified: Visit to RCC Bel-para where a training programme on sanitation will be organized at Bright Academy campus at Rampara. Toilets to 50 beneficiaries under GG No. 1411353 will be handed over.