Dubai: A medical helpline for club members, a tie-up with some of the leading hospitals of India to provide priority to members and facilitate easy admissions, adding a large volume of sports activities are some of the ambitious programmes proposed by the new chairman Vasu Shroff and the new executive committee members at the India Club for 2015-2017.
In an investiture ceremony held at the India Club, members welcomed the new committee in the presence of the Indian Consul General Anurag Bhushan and other prominent achievers from the Indian diaspora in the city. Honouring the outgoing chairman Dr Ram Buxani, while welcoming the new team, Bhushan said: “The India Club has grown from strength to strength under the dynamic leadership of Dr Buxani who organised a rich calendar of cultural activities round the year. It will only grow to more sublime heights under the stewardship of someone as seasoned as Shroff.”
Providing an insight into future plans for the Club, Shroff said: “I plan to work towards adding many health and sport features. We are looking towards having special arrangements with premium hospitals such as Leelavati for the club members and intend to increase our sports events and activities by nearly 70 per cent as we want to encourage good health and fitness standards among all our members and their families.” Shroff is holding the post of chairman for the third time in the Club’s 50-year history.
Departing from the Club’s tradition for the first time, the Club welcomed its first woman vice-chairperson Reena Kamlesh Bhatia, who is excited at being a trend setter and expressed her resolve to take the Club to new heights: “I plan to work towards providing better privileges to all members, add more entertainment programmes and augment facilities at the Club.
Dr Buxani expressed happiness at the change of guard and said change was important for the the Club’s progress. “It is good that I have the privilege to hand over charge to a stalwart like Shroff,” he said. “It was important to leave a legacy for future generations to nurture and played an important role in setting a pioneering trend in including a woman for the first time as the vice-chairperson of the club,” he added.
Apart from Shroff the honorary chairman and Bhatia who is the honorary vice-chairman, the new executive committee will include Dr Ram Buxani, Irfan Izhar, Ketan Rele, Sunil Pathak, Sanjeev Jain, Harish Pawani and George Mammen.
The India Club which came into existence on August 15, 1964, celebrated its golden jubilee last year and has more than 2,500 prominent professionals from the Indian diaspora as its members and with an additional 5,000 individuals who are part of the family of members.
