Howrah Rotarians celebrate platinum jubilee
As RC Howrah, RID 3291, celebrated its platinum jubilee, club president Rabindra Nath Dutta and secretary Subhrangshu Dutta took charge of the second oldest club in the district. The club has lined up a series of gala events to mark 75 years of its existence.
A team led by past president Santanu Banerjee, convener, Platinum Jubilee Committee, said some high-visibility projects include distributing bedroll packages through RCCs to poor children. Each bedroll has a school bag, storybooks, water bottle, steel plate, an umbrella and other essentials.
At the district assembly (2022–23), the spouses of Rotarians who have served for more than 40 years in RID 3291 will also be felicitated at the membership session. “We strongly believe that spouses are a good avenue for Rotary’s growth and they will be recognised for the first time in the district conclave,” said Banerjee. The club will be arranging a fellowship tour for members and their spouses to mark the platinum jubilee.
The ‘Each One Bring One’ mantra of PRIP Shekhar Mehta will be followed to increase the membership to 75 from the present 36 by June 2023. The club will construct the first floor of a pre-primary school maintained by one of its RCCs at Amta, a small town near Howrah, install a gallery of past presidents at its own building and release a platinum jubilee souvenir.
An illustrious past
A group of Rotarians from Calcutta led by Sukumar Das with encouragement from PRIP N C Laharry and other members of RC Calcutta like Saroj Ghosh did the spadework for a Rotary club in Howrah. “The first meeting was held on Oct 3, 1947, and a provisional club was formed with 35 members. It was the third club in West Bengal in the then RID 53 and the charter was presented on June 23, 1948 by PRIP Laharry during the tenure of DG Clifford Agarwala from Patna,” recalled Banerjee.
An eminent lawyer and academician, Bankim Chandra Dutta was the charter president and Sukumar Das the charter secretary; and the club had 25 charter members in its first year. Till the club moved to its own Rotary Community Hall in 1982, the members had their regular meetings at the Railway European Institute Hall, now known as the Eastern Railway Officers Club. RC Howrah is the 57th club in India to celebrate the golden jubilee in 1998 under the then president late Madan Datta. So far, the club has sponsored an Interact and a Rotaract club, five RCCs and an Inner Wheel club. One of its remarkable feats is the club bulletin, The Bridge, which was first released in 1948 and has been a source of bonding and networking for its members.
Covid booster vaccination
A Covid booster vaccination camp was held for people in the 18–59 age group, with the support of the Howrah Municipal Corporation. “Around 180 booster doses were given to the beneficiaries. Dr Monosij Dhara led the project team which was assisted by three officials from the corporation. Eighteen members from our club were present in this camp,” said Banerjee.
