TogetherVCAN.in Launch!!

When
August 08,2014 @ 6.00pm - 8.00pm

On the 8^th of August 2014, V Citizens Action Network (VCAN) launched its digital Citizens’ Engagement Forum. This informative portal was launched at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Main Auditorium, Chowpatty, by the Honourable Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Mr Justice Mohit Shah.

The Honourable Chief Justice was joined on the dais by: Dr. B. K. Upadhyay, Joint Commissioner of Police Traffic, Mumbai; Mr S.S. Shinde, Joint Municipal Commissioner, Mumbai; Mr. Nitin Gadre, Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra and Mr. Suresh Goklaney, Executive Vice Chairman, Eureka Forbes Limited to mark this momentous occasion.

The evening began with Mr V Ranganathan, Trustee of VAN felicitating the Chief Guest and Guests of Honour all of whom expressed their approval and support for such an initiative.Mr Gadre expressed his appreciation for VCAN’s contribution towards getting the Cooperative Housing Societies involved in the election process thereby easing the pressure of the Election Commission.

Dr Upadhyay expressed his concern at the rather callous attitude displayed by the public towards following traffic rules and hoped that such a portal, with its emphasis on keeping the public well informed and engaged would help bring about a behavioural change, creating a safer city. Mr Shinde appreciated the portal’s emphasis on ALMs and the fact that the portal makes available relevant information to citizens.

The Honourable Chief Justice, hoped that through the portal, basic court procedures could be demystified for the average citizen and that the portal would help each citizen feel empowered.

After the portal was launched, Mrs Indrani Malkani, Trustee of VCAN took all those present through the various features of the portal, explaining in particular the novel way in which citizens could post problems they were facing in the city and how VCAN would facilitate the procedure for the resolution of the problem by conveying the relevant information and connecting them with the appropriate authority.

Mr. Goklaney was then felicitated by the Honourable Chief Justice in appreciation of the invaluable contribution by Eureka Forbes Ltd to this initiative.Mr Rajan Jayakar, Trustee of VCAN delivered the vote of thanks, acknowledging the contribution of all those without whom the evening would not have been possible.

The event was attended by many eminent personalities namely: Mrs. Justice Roshan Dalvi of Bombay High Court; Mr. Justice Ravindra S. Chavan, President, Maharashtra State Consumer Redressal Commission; Mr Shailesh Gandhi, Retd. Central Information Commissioner; Mr. Ajit Kumar Jain, Information Commissioner of Mumbai; Mr Rajesh Aggarwal, Principal Secretary (IT) Government of Maharashtra; Mr Rafique Dada, Senior Advocate and Mrs. Dilnawaz Variava, Environmentalist.

Many noted activists such as Sudhir Badami and Dolphy D’Souza were also present to express their support. All five trustees of VCAN including Captain Sohrab Kapadia and Captain Ashok Malkani were in attendance.

The knowledge partners for the initiative were also present, including: Mr Hitesh Jain, Senior Partner, ALMT Legal; Mr Vinay Shetty, Founder Think Foundation; Dr. Gautam Sen and Dr Kushilabh Bose, Healthspring and Bhaskar Prabhu, Mahiti Adhikar Manch.

The evening was well attended by members of the print and electronic media.