Search the Internet          Tips

Kutchi Leva Patels to chat up
relatives abroad, courtesy BT

Transnational company British Telecom, in association with its England-based Non Resident Indian employees, will unleash hi-tech wizardry on Sunday evening in Kutch, to enable live electronic interaction between the quake-affected and their brethren abroad.

At 2100 hours (IST), Ramjibhai Patel, president of the local Kutchi Leva Patel community organisation, and 200 of his ilk will assemble at the community centre, and link up via an audio tele-conference with their England-based relatives who will converge at Northalt in Middlesex.

The community is one of the dominant and affluent communities in Gujarat. About 25,000 of them have gone abroad seeking greener pastures, mostly in England and Africa.

Thirteen of their England-based community members, led by businessman Ramesh Bhanderi, are in Kutch to bolster rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Some of them, employees of BT, have been granted paid leave to undertake the social work.

They have descended with hi-tech gadgets - including laptops, satellite phones, computer-compatible cellular phones, etc - to establish communication links between the quake-hit and their relatives abroad.

The tele-conference will see the quake-hit submitting a wish-list, seeking materials necessary to mitigate their suffering.

One of the 'demands' is for aluminium sheets that can be used to build semi-permanent houses the design for which has already been prepared.

Funds are expected to pour in from the Kutchi Leva Patels settled in Kenya, England and the United Arab Emirates.

It is learnt the Group of Thirteen delineated Gujarat's misery to their BT colleagues, which led to ready contributions totalling two million pound sterling in one week.

Top BT officials in England have reportedly assured necessary help, which means BT might ship hi-tech equipment free of cost for use during the relief operations.

The Complete Coverage | List of earthquake sites

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report