People of Puducherry missed an opportunity to see their Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy share a dais on the World Blood Donor Day held at Gandhi Thidal on Beach Road on Tuesday.
What was expected to be the first public meeting for the Puducherry Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister to come together on a common platform turned a disappointment due to the absence of the Chief Minister.
The Celebration of World Blood Donor Day organised by Pondicherry AIDS Control Society was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
But the programme was delayed for nearly 45 minutes.
While the public, officials and ministers were waiting to listen to both the LG and CM, only Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi arrived at the venue at 6.45 p.m. and flagged off the motor bike awareness rally.
Later, she met the blood donors in the mobile voluntary bus donation camp. Sharing the dais with Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao and Raj Bhavan MLA K. Lakshminarayanan, the LG presided over the function.
Addressing the public, she said it was her first public function in Puducherry.
Stating that blood donation was a noble cause, she said: “Hence, I felt that the invitation for the function had to be respected immediately. It is a humanitarian cause and each one of us has to be associated with this.”
She shared her personal experience with the public: “I have a personal reason to have committed to this. I was six-years-old when my father met with a severe road accident. He was in the hospital and I remember that the doctor telling my mother that if we pass through the next 24 hours, my father will survive. But, he needed lot of blood and needed the right group.”
She added that it was her father’s close friend Rehman who donated blood and saved his father.
“If that had not happened, I would not have been here today. This is a life saver. I have come here today to thank Rehman. I owe my life and my father’s life to the donor,” she said.
The Lieutenant Governor added that blood has no religious or regional bias and it unites all. She asked the doctors to visit Raj Bhavan so she could donate the blood and stated that even the staff at Raj Nivas would donate blood as well.
Donors honoured
Puducherry Chief Judge C.V.Karthikeyan along with Law Department Secretary G.Sendil Kumar donated blood at the Mobile Voluntary Blood Donation Camp. Volunteers who had donated blood more than three times were honoured.
Donated 40 times
Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao was honoured for having donated blood for more than 40 times.
Dr.Edith Jasmine, a paediatrician, received the highest individual blood donor for donating 144 times.
Winners of rangoli competition received cash prize and a certificate.
