By a StaffWriter
NewYork Consul
General Riva Ganguly
Das, in her first inter-
action with the media,
opened the floor for
reporters, asking them for sug-
gestions as to what the con-
sulate could do better for the
community as well as for the
press corps.
Barely a minute after her brief
opening remarks, in which she
said she values the “suggestions”
of the media, hands went up
waiting for her nod to ask ques-
tions.
In the next two hours after
her introductory remarks
around noon March 30, there
were questions, including about
better consular services, better
media coordination by those in
charge of media at the con-
sulate, and suggestion for more
interaction with the vernacular
media in the NewYork region.
There were some 30-odd media
personnel at the event.
Ganguly Das said that first
and foremost she wants to
engage with the media and
would like to reach out to the
community through them in
addition to the consulate’s own
outreach efforts.
She wanted the media to
carry important messages from
the consulate for the communi-
ty through their columns.
One such message, she
announced at the very outset,
was the decision to engage a
new company, CKGS, to take
over from the present BLS
International company, against
whom some complaints from
the community are believed to
have been received, to take
care of the passport services.
“We have to have a system
which is responsible to the
people. Our expectation is that
they (the new company) will
provide excellent services to
the people and without any
problem or harassment,”
Ganguly Das said.
The new company will take
over fromMay 7, but those
who would have applied
already through the current
contractor before the term of
the BLS expires, would get
services from the consulate for
emergency services.
The new consul general said
that one of her targets is to
engage with the young Indian-
Americans. “The challenge is to
bring young people to engage
with us”, and asked for sugges-
tions from journalists towards
that goal.
In essence her message was
to engage with the community
as best as possible. “We want to
interact intensively and exten-
sively with the community here
and the consulate is open for
messages and suggestions from
the community.”
News India Times
April 8, 2016
10
Community
– that’s all you need to know
A
New York Consulate To Streamline Passport Services
Bya StaffWriter
C
elebrating International
Women’s month, non-
profit Ekal Vidyala hosted
the first forum onWomen’s
Empowerment at the Indian
Consulate in NewYork March
24, addressed among others by
Consul General Riva Ganguly
Das and Aroon Shivdasani, pres-
ident of the Indo American Arts
Council.
A vibrant exchange of ideas
took place at the event among
the panelists and a roomful of
people drawn from diverse cul-
tural and social backgrounds.
In her welcome address,
Ambassador Ganguly Das pro-
vided an overview of the ‘Beti
Bachao-Beti Padhao’ as a flag-
ship initiative of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi. Recognizing the
importance of women’s partici-
pation in leadership, the Indian
government, she said, had
decreed that the local panchayat
must allocate a third of its seats
to women. Women assigned to
positions of leadership have
taken on the responsibilities
with great dedication and today,
not only are women members of
the panchayat, an increasing
number of them are heads of
the panchayats.
She said that while “great
strides” are being made in
empowering women, a lot has to
be done to change long-held
attitudes and beliefs, and the
government requires support
from the civil society organiza-
tions such as Ekal with strong
grassroots presence to make the
change.
Shivdasani, who headlines
the forum, stressed the impor-
tance of educating men as much
as women towards creating an
enabling environment for fami-
lies to thrive. While women are
taking on strong leadership
roles, as seen in Panchayats,
there is need to create a true
platform of equality, where
women have equal opportunity
in all walks of life,” she said.
ITV anchor Renee moderated
the panel discussion.
Ranjani Saigal, who had been
an Ekal donor, described the
need to uphold a standard set by
parents who were key in estab-
lishing institutions such as the
IIT, and the impact and motiva-
tion this provided. Urmilesh
Arya brought to fore a critical
challenge for girls in accessing
education – the fear of their par-
ents that their daughter would
get romantically involved with a
boy which may bring shame to
the family.
She said she overcame this
challenge along with many oth-
ers with self-conviction and
courage. Sunita Saini highlight-
ed the value of a supportive
family and parents who recog-
nize the importance of channel-
ing their resources towards
building their children regard-
less of gender.
The discussion highlighted
the importance and relevance of
good health for women as a
strategy towards empowerment,
and ability to contribute to the
family’s income and stature in
the community.
Above all, there was an unani-
mous agreement that education
was the most important aspect
of women empowerment, espe-
cially in light of the fact that
when a woman is educated, she
educates her entire family.
Education is pivotal in overcom-
ing the socio-cultural biases that
promote female infanticide, and
the perception that a girl is a
burden, and to achieve “beti
bachao”. Vinod Jhunjhunwalla,
president of Ekal Foundation,
U.S.A. and Prof Subash Midha,
the President of Ekal’s NewYork
Chapter, thanked the Indian
Consulate, for their support in
hosting this event.
Ekal Vidyalaya Hosts ‘Beti Bacho-Beti Padhao’ Event At The Consulate
Above, a panel discussion on ‘Beti Bacho-Beti Padhao’ at the Indian Consuslate in New York March 24. From left, Ranjani Saigal,
Urmilesh Arya, Sunita Saini, moderator Renee Mehrra. Left, Consul General Riva Ganguly Das addressing the event.
Riva Ganguly Das, Consul General of India
in New York, held her first interaction with
the ethnic media after taking over as the
new consul last month, at the consulate's
ballroom March 30. She said the con-
sulate wants to engage with the
community, especially with the young
generation, and sought suggestions from
the media to achieve the goal.
Photo above, Consul General Ganguly Das,
center, with Deputy Consul General, Dr.
Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, second from
left, and other officials during the Q&A.
Yogesh Mehta
