Port Blair, March 18: The Non-Gazetted Government Officers’ Association has drawn up a year-long programme in connection with the Diamond Jubilee Celebration of the Association. The Association is going to complete 60 years of its formation.
In a largely-attended meeting held at Hotel ACC, Port Blair on 16th March 2013, it was decided to conduct various programmes throughout Andaman and Nicobar Islands from July, 2013 to February, 2014. Presenting the blue-print of the programme in the meeting today, Shri D. Ayyappan, General Secretary of the Association said that the inauguration of the Diamond Jubilee Celebration will be formally held sometime in August, 2013 while sport and games competitions, seminars on various topic, photo exhibition, etc. will be carried out from July, 2013 onwards till February, 2014.
Speaking on the occasion, former General Secretary of the Association Shri KG Das recalled the glorious past of the Association under the leadership of late veteran leader PKS Prasd. Referring to various anti-working class policies being pursued by the central government, Das said that the public sector undertakings built up with the help of former Soviet Union by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Smt Indira Gandhi are being sold out one by one at throwaway prices.
Addressing the gathering, Shri P. Banerjee, former President of the Association recalled the famous struggle launched by PKS Prasad against demolition of huts constructed on government land by government employees in which hundreds of government employees were suspended and jailed in the Cellular Jail. Due to this agitation, the Administration had to go for construction of residential accommodation for government employees at various parts of Port Blair and other areas in the islands.
Addressing the gathering, Shri B. Chandrachoodan, General Secretary, CITU A&N State Committee called upon the government employees to continue their agitation and struggle on their various issues.
Former leaders of the Association, Shri N. Ravindran, Shri A. Ramesan Nair, Shri M. Mohammed, etc. who participated in a number of movements, narrated the victimization they had to face at the hands of bureaucracy in the Administration during the 1960s and 1970s for participating in the Association’s activities.
The meeting elected a 100-Member Diamond Jubilee Celebration Committee with Shri KG Das as Patron, Shri B. Chandrachoodan as Chairman and Shri TS Sreekumar as Secretary.
Shri Sadanand Rai, President of the Association who presided over the meeting welcomed the gathering while Shri H.L. Prasad, Vice President proposed a Vote of Thanks.