DOHA: Indian Ambassador Dr Deepak Mittal, who is also patron of Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) in Qatar, met the ICC managing committee for the first time since his arrival in the country.
He was joined by Xavier Dhanaraj, First Secretary (Consular & Community Affairs), who was recently nominated ICC coordinating officer by the embassy. Hemant Kumar Dwivedi, First Secretary (Culture & Education) was also present.
The managing committee team led by president Manikandan AP included vice-president Vinod V Nair, general secretary Seenu Pillai, joint secretary Anjan Ganguly, head of finance & sponsorship Rajesh Singh, head of human resources, premises and sports Jaffar Khan, head of cultural activities and education Nayana Wagh, cultural coordinator Nirmala Shanmugapandian, head of in-house activities Ramachandra Shetty, head of consular services and external events Bhumeshwar Padala and head of associate organisations and membership Parambathkandi Mohsin.
The ICC president narrated the history of the ICC since its inception in 1991. He highlighted ICC activities that support the community like consular services, classes for classical and cinematic dance, chess, karate, Kalari music and language, among others. He mentioned the committee’s plan for expansion of the Ashoka Hall.
The general secretary spoke about the 150-strong ICC-coordinated delegation for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) 2017 and 2019, with the Qatar delegation to the Bengaluru PBD in 2017 being the largest ever in and before 2017.
Managing committee members updated the ambassador about ICC’s past, current and future activities. They also explained the benefits of ICC to the Indian community in general and privileges provided to its members.
The ambassador thanked the managing committee for the hard work rendered towards the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He lauded the committee and staff in managing sales of tickets for Vande Bharat flights on ICC premises. The envoy confirmed maximum cooperation and support from the embassy to the centre in all its community activities.