Rtn. Rajendra K. Saboo had been elected RI Director 1981-83, and it was during that time that the then Director of PGI, Dr. I.C. Pathak, described the problem of attendants of the patients who had to face the vagaries of weather and stay in the open or in car garages.
In 1982 with J.R. Khanna as club president, decided to built the first serai for the attendants of the patients in PGI.
The club raised money and collected Rs.75,000 and on behalf of the club the first cheque for construction of the PGI serai in its campus was presented by the then Rotary International President Hiroji Mukasa to the Director of PGI Dr. I.C. Pathak.
The club made presentations in various schools and donation slips were printed and handed out in schools to raise funds for the project. Special slide presentations were made using the actual photographs of the scenario and the living condition of attendants that moved the teachers and students.
In 1983-84, under president D.S. Swani, another Rs.1.75 lakh were raised and the construction of the ground floor was completed.
The club intensified its fund raising efforts and raised Rs.50,000 through sale of coupons in schools and public, and another Rs.1 lakh by publishing a souvenir. Another Rs.50,000 was raised through the premier show of the Amitabh Bachhan starrer “Coolie”.
During 1984-85, when R.M. Suri was the president, the club undertook a massive fund-raising drive in October 1984. Rotarians wearing blue sashes and holding donation boxes, started going around the city, from shop to shop, and from house to house, requesting people’s contribution to the project. Several teams of Rotarians fanned out in different parts of the city, including Sector 17, Industrial Area, and residential areas to collect fund.
The Club was able to raise Rs.2 lakh that helped in completion of the PGI serai that year.
On 28th of June 1985, the keys to the PGI serai were handed over to Dr. I.C. Pathak.
The Club spent Rs.4.6 lakh on this project that brought relief to numerous attendants who accompanied the patients in PGI.
The Club has remained actively involved with this first major project of the Club and till date had been doing annual maintenance of the facility though its upkeep is the responsibility of the PGI.Rtn CJ Singh
