A GROUP of Indian businessmen in the Gulf have offered more than BD60,000 to the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam (BKS) to complete its BD300,000 headquarters in Segaiya.The pledge came when the businessmen met BKS officials in New Delhi at a reception hosted by Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas global conference of overseas Indians.
The initiative came from EMKE Group managing director M A Yusuffali, when Samajam president G K Nair and building committee chairman P V Radhakrishna Pillai brought to his attention that they are still short of more than BD60,000 to complete the project.
Mr Yusuffali called other businessmen who were also attending the reception and asked them to support the project - and in five minutes he got an offer of BD60,000.
They made the offer in the presence of Indian Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty, who was also attending the reception at the Ashoka Hotel lawns.
Besides Mr Yusuffali, the offer of support was given by Bahrain-based businessman and Pravasi Bharatiya Samman winner Dr Ravi Pillai, UAE-based businessmen Dr B R Shetty, Tony Jashanmal, J R Gangaramani and K Muralee Dharan, and Doha-based businessman C K Menon.
Dr Pillai has earlier contributed BD30,000, Mr Yusuffali and Dr Shetty BD25,000 each and Mr Menon BD10,000.
"They agreed to make additional contributions and we are grateful to all donors, especially Mr Yusuffali who took the initiative in raising enough funds to overcome the financial crisis which has delayed the project," said Mr Nair.
"We can now go ahead and finish the project with full confidence."
Mr Pillai said all BKS members were grateful to Mr Yusuffali for his kind gesture which gave them a pleasant surprise.
"We now hope to have an official inauguration of the new building by the last week of March," he told a Press conference at the Kalavara Restaurant in Salmaniya yesterday.
"We also met Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanan-dan at the Kerala House in New Delhi and invited him to Bahrain to inaugurate the BKS headquarters. He accepted our invitation."
Mr Yusuffali said it is befitting for the Samajam, established in 1947, to have its own headquarters.
"The community hall at the new complex will prove a great boon to the entire Indian community," said Mr Nair.
"The Samajam's original plan was to complete the project at a cost of BD200,000.
"However, at the directive of our ambassador, who advised us to make it a befitting monument reflecting the large Indian presence in the Kingdom, we changed our designs. It will now cost more than BD300,000."
The civil work is completed and contractors are now working on interior decorations and modern acoustics."
The money for the project has been raised through contributions from Samajam members and donations from well-wishers .
The new headquarters is a dream project for the Samajam, said general secretary Madhu Madhavan.
"It has been in the forefront in extending assistance to the needy," he added.
Besides a multi-purpose hall, the new headquarters will have an administration office and other facilitie
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