Fwd: COVID-19 assistance

[Ram Sarup Lamba]

Dear All:

I am enclosing the email that I had received from the Indian Counsulate at Atlanta. I had sent this to Ratnakar. As u can see from the email, the easiest way for us to HELP IN COVID FIGHT is Indian Red Cross. Even the Counsulate do no recommend PM Cares funds as they know it may reach not for what we want the funds to be used.

All the best!

Ram S Lamba

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ram Sarup Lamba <ram....@gmail.com>
Date: April 29, 2021 at 8:39:25 PM AST
To: Ratnakar Palai <r.p...@gmail.com>
Subject: Fwd: COVID-19 assistance

Dear Ratnakar: as per our telephone conversation, please do the needful. Our country needs us at this moment.  I personally feel monetary option will be easier and quicker.

Let me know what route you and the administrators want to follow.

Wishing you the best!

Ram S Lamba

787-667-6704

Begin forwarded message:

From: CGI Atlanta <pol.a...@mea.gov.in>
Date: April 29, 2021 at 5:24:49 PM AST
To: Ram Sarup Lamba <ram....@gmail.com>
Subject: COVID-19 assistance



Dear Prof. Lamba,

 

Greetings from Atlanta!

 

I am Rajib Bhattacharya, Consul (Commerce) and nodal officer for coordinating the movement of assistance from USA (SE-region) to India. I may be reached at my Cell: +1-404-903-9067.  

 

2.      It is understood that you are willing to extend the assistance to Government of India in the fight against COVID-19.

 

3.      Though, Government of India is not soliciting any assistance, any individual/ organization who wish to contribute may limit their contribution to the following items:

 

1. Oxygen cylinders with 10 litres and 45 litres LMO capacity (pl. note that this is Liquid Medical Oxygen Capacity)

2. Oxygen concentrators

3. Oxygen generator plants (In case of Oxygen Generator Plants, detailed specifications and requirements might also be provided. It may also be indicated whether technical persons will be sent to help in installation of such plant).

4. Remdesivir

5. Tocilizumab

6. Ventilators/ BIPAP

 

4.      For sending the materials, Indian Red Cross Society will be the consignee to whom the donations/ gifts should be addressed to:

 

Indian Red Cross Society

Sansad Marg, 1, Red Cross Road

New Delhi, 110001.

 

Contact: Dr. Vanshree Singh

Tel    :+91 11 23711551

Mobile:  +91 9818228394

 

Control Room:

Tel    : +91 9319982105

          : +91 9319982104

Email: director...@indianredcross.org.

 

6.      Kindly provide documentation stated below directly to Indian Red Cross Society on its email director...@indianredcross.org before dispatch:

 

(i)         Airway Bill

(ii)        Commercial Invoice

(iii)       List of items, carton-wise

(iv)       Donation/ Gift Certificate

 

The Consulate may also be informed of the details of the consignment to facilitate.

 

7.      If you wish to send monetary assistance to India, you may route the same through PM Cares Fund, link of which is given below:

 

https://www.pmcares.gov.in/en/

 

With regards,

 

(Rajib Bhattacharya)

Consul (Commerce)

Consulate General of India

Atlanta, GA-30342

[Ram Sarup Lamba]

Wishing you the best!

Ram S

To teach is to touch life forever

On May 8, 2021, at 1:02 PM, R. Palai <r.p...@gmail.com> wrote:



Dear Lamba Jee,

                 I am sorry, you are making an incorrect interpretation adding your own perception. It clearly says to send the  Materials consignments to Red Cross and Monetary donation to PM CARES, which is meant to fight COVID. I don't know how you infer the last sentence. 

Regards,

Ratnakar

 



<UNSC_Logo.jpeg>

[Ram Sarup Lamba]

Dear Ratnakar:

My inference/ interpretation comes from the following: ,"

Battling COVID-19 - Donate Now*

Back to Battling  COVID-19

INDIAN RED CROSS HAS NOT AUTHORISED ANY INDIVIDUAL, CORPORATE, TRUST, FIRM OR BODY TO RAISE OR  COLLECT ANY DONATION IN CASH OR KIND ON IT'S BEHALF. ALL FUND TRANSFERS AND CARD PAYMENTS MAY BE DONE THROUGH OUR OFFICIAL WEBSITE LINK. THE BRANCHES ARE ALSO ADVISED TO  FOLLOW  DUE DILIGENCE IN THIS MATTER. IRCS WILL NOT BE  RESPONSIBLE TO ANY ENTITY IF IT MAKES A DONATION OTHERWISE.

* IRCS Website

Red Cross Society has been known from ages to help any country where they have a branch to DONATE the funds directly. Whereas a political entity may not spend ALL the funds for the cause that we are thinking and planning.

As I said earlier,”If PM would have cared India would not be in such a situation”. PM was busy in the elections and Kumbh Mela etc. 

Sorry that I do not agree with you and the group who decided however, in a democracy I have the right to differ with respect and by the way, I have the experience with several entities that belong to the government.

Done is done!

Best.

Ram S Lamba

On May 8, 2021, at 1:02 PM, R. Palai <r.p...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Lamba Jee,

                 I am sorry, you are making an incorrect interpretation adding your own perception. It clearly says to send the  Materials consignments to Red Cross and Monetary donation to PM CARES, which is meant to fight COVID. I don't know how you infer the last sentence. 

Regards,

Ratnakar

 

On Sat, May 8, 2021 at 11:54 AM Ram Sarup Lamba <ram....@gmail.com> wrote:

[Barbara Southard]

Dear friends in the Indian Association,

My husband, Dr. Parimal Choudhury, and I appreciate the efforts of board members of the Indian Association to bring to our attention the importance of raising funds to help the people of India survive the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, we are deeply disturbed by the decision to send funds donated by members of the Indian Association to help the people of India to PM-CARES. We believe that these funds should be sent to an internationally recognized NGO not affiliated with any particular political party. The prominent picture of the current prime minister of India on the cover page of the PM-CARES website is in itself a political statement. The board of the Indian Association has a moral obligation to do due diligence to ensure that the money donated by individual members of the association is not sent to an organization whose political motivations may influence how the funds are used. We have sent our donation to the COVID disaster relief fund of the Share and Care Foundation, and we will be making an additional donation to the Indian Red Cross. If the Indian Association initiates further drives for donations from its members, we highly recommend that an NGO with a good reputation should be selected as the recipient, and all members of the Indian Association should be informed as to which organization will be the recipient before being asked to make donations. Wishing you all good health in these difficult times, Barbara Southard Choudhury, PhD, retired professor of Asian history, UPR.

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "IndianSocietyOfPuertoRico" group.
To post to this group, send email to
IndianSociet...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/IndianSocietyOfPuertoRico?hl=en

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "IndianSocietyOfPuertoRico" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to IndianSocietyOfPue...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/IndianSocietyOfPuertoRico/EC206060-FCDB-40C0-8FBD-230508AE09AA%40gmail.com.

[Barbara Southard]

Dear Dr. Palai, Thank you for trying to clarify the intent of your emails regarding donations. Although no individual was compelled to channel donations to PMCares, it is nevertheless disturbing that the Indian Association as an organization chose PMCares as the official recipient of funds. First of all, the website of PM Cares makes it very clear that one of its primary purposes is to rouse support for the current Prime Minister in spite of the fact that most unbiased observers have reached the conclusion that his government’s promotion of huge political rallies contributed to the disastrous increase in COVID cases. Second, and even more importantly, there have been many questions raised in India about the lack of transparency of PMCares, as well as the resistance to being audited, all of which has resulted in multiple lawsuits (see links given below for further information). Under these circumstances, can we be sure that the money donated will be used properly without political motivation?

If you have already sent funds to PMCares, there is no remedy. As Dr. Ram Lamba said, what’s done is done. My husband and I are concerned about the future. If the situation in Indian remains grave, the Indian Association may very well mount a second campaign for donations. In that case, we beseech board members to do very careful analysis and award the funds collected to an NGO with an established reputation for transparency and efficacy. Due diligence please. People’s lives are at stake. Yours sincerely, Barbara Southard Choudhury

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/need-for-transparency-the-hindu-editorial-on-pm-cares-fund/article32397564.ece

https://thewire.in/government/pm-cares-fund-now-has-independent-auditor-but-remains-beset-by-lack-of-transparency

On Sun, May 9, 2021 at 11:37 PM R. Palai <r.p...@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Dr. Southard,

           Thanks for your concern about the COVID situation in India.

1) With all due respect,  I can safely say that you either did NOT read our email carefully or pretending as if not!  Before teaching us moral principles, please read our emails and Group posts again. At the very beginning, we clearly stated that the donation will be given to PM CARES or Indian Red Cross. We also gave freedom to individuals for individual donations. As you did an individual donation, it means you must have read it that we are donating to PM CARES and everybody has also the same choice!

As per the communication of the Consulate  General of India (CGI), Atlanta to Dr. Lamba, the CGI  suggested to send the materials consignment to Red Cross and Monetary donation to PM CARES. We decided to send the donation to PM CARES! We announced it several times in our Group forum and emails that all the donations will be given to PM CARES! 

(excerpt from our 1st email: After considering all the options, we feel that we can contribute monetarily to PM CARES for COVID-19 relief or the Indian Red Cross.  We urge you do donate whatever amount you can, any amount is highly appreciated; you can donate to the Indian Association of PR or you can make an Individual donation. I feel if you can donate as a community with an IAPR name with an IAPR check/account it will be nice.

Any donation collected on or before 6th May 2021 will be donated to India for COVID-19 relief.)

 2) PM CARES is NOT affiliated with any political party!  The Prime Minister (PM) is NOT for a political party! The Prime minister is the Prime Minister of India and the Executive Head of Govt. of India.  

3) You have the liberty of your personal assumption, presumption, & belief, we respect it! Anybody can make baseless and unfounded accusations, but it does not stand to judicial scrutiny.  

Regards,

Ratnakar Palai for IAPR Team

               

***********************************
Dr. R. Palai

Professor
Department of Physics
Facundo Bueso Building # FB 219
 PO BOX- 70377
University of Puerto Rico
San Juan, PR, 00936-8377, USA
Phone: 787 764 0000 Extn 88465 (Office)/88462/88460 (Labs)
FAX:787 764 4063
Email: r.p...@upr.edu
https://goo.gl/FDvwkY

http://prem-cie2m.upr.edu

**************************************

[Ram Sarup Lamba]

Dear Ratnakar:

After reading carefully Dr. Barbara Southard Choudhury’s letter, I am not the only one who has pointed out my concern for sending the donations to PM Cares Funds. Furthermore, the articles included by Dr. Southard Choudhury are quite clear in several respects. I know that the Association is collecting more donations which talks very good about our members who are concerned about the COVID situation in India however, if you send the donations again to PM Cares it  will be my turn to indicate,”...that you either did NOT read our email carefully or pretending as if not!”. 

My grave concern becomes even more worrisome when I read The Hindu Editorial (by the way not a western reporter which you always neglect)  included below by Dr. Barbara Choudhury about the use of PM Cares funds and the judgment of Supreme Court of India. I think it is high time for us to analyze and send future donations to a transparent  NGO such as The Indian Red Cross Society or Share and Care Foundation. 

Remember, the Prime Minister belongs to a political party whose name is BJP. Therefore, the IAPR should not send more donations to ANY political entity. We all know that you closed the WhatsApp communication group for few months because some members were writing/sending  political messages. Your concern and taking this leap step suggested by Dr. Barbara Choudhury will further strengthen the previous and future actions in making  IAPR  as a non political entity.

[R. Palai]