Anahita Desai Manifesto For BPP Elections 2021

Anahita Yazdi Desai: An Immaculate Track Record Spanning 20 Years Dedicated To The Well-Being Of Our Community

I am standing for Trusteeship of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet in the forthcoming elections because I believe I can make a positive difference to the lives of individual Parsis and Iranis and the Community as a whole.

I have the commitment and dedication to deal with community issues on an everyday basis.  I have seen the workings of the Punchayet at close quarters and I understand the enormous work required of a trustee and the uphill task one has to face as a trustee. I am willing to take on this task and work for my community with dedication.

I believe that when working for the Community all decisions taken, must be in the larger interest of the community and for the greater good of the Community and our Religion. These have been my guiding principles over the last 20 years during which I have dedicated my life to the wellbeing and welfare of my community.

My manifesto does not have grandiose promises and nor am I painting ideal scenerios because one has to take into account the ground reality, the probability of lack of support on the Board, the financial constraints of the Institution, the level of professionalism of the staff, the Class IV workers being unionized etc. However, I can say with certainty that I will leave no stone unturned to take forward every worthy project of the BPP and help the deserving of our community through the BPP.

 MY STRENGTHS:

• A proven record of Community Service (apart from helping community members and families I am also the Trustee of Sodawaterwalla Agiary which is now being renovated, Trustee of the Machi Fund, on the Ladies Committee of the Parukh Dharamshala, Hon. CEO of WAPIZ).
• Liaison with Anjumans all over India
• Prepared to devote 6 – 8 hours every day to Community work (I have a proven track record of this service for 20 years of my life)
• Being accessible and available
• Believe in working towards a solution with pragmatism and without fear or favour
• Willing to work with all the Trustees based on Issues        

 MY COMMITMENTS:

 I am committed to …

• Safeguarding and preserving the Traditions and Practices of our Zarthoshti Religion.
• Safeguarding our Doongerwadi
• Working for the Welfare of our Mobed Sahebs
• Providing Housing on priority for our deserving newly married couples and full time mobeds
• Providing better financial aid for medical Services and Hospitalization to our Poor
• Providing care, financial help and medical services to our Senior citizens

 DOONGERWADI – A LEGACY TO UPHOLD:

The 55 acres which constitute Doongerwadi is a legacy of our ancestors which we as a community have inherited. I am involved in getting our bunglis repaired and renovated. Last year I co-ordinated the renovation of the Bhabha Bunglis  by Noshir and Katy Gotla, the Tarachand Bungli (lower Bugli) is recently renovated by Mrs Soonu Buhariwalla, repairs to the Bennett Bunglis will be starting in the next couple of weeks through a very generous donor. I want all our bunglis to be repaired and renovated so that the grieving families are provided with a comfortable place with all amenities. I will ensure that the renovated bunglis are well maintained. Safeguarding our precious Doongerwadi is top priority for me.

COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMUNITY:  

In my opinion, the BPP needs to be active on social media so that an informed view and the position of the BPP can be presented to the community. Misinformation and outright falsehoods are often spread by vested interests and when the BPP does not disseminate the correct information in time, it gets a bad name.

I will endeavour to restart a Monthly communication from the BPP to the community in our community newspapers.

The BPP must have an informative website which is updated regularly and which carries information about all of its activities. For example, not many in the community know that the BPP sells kustis and even wool for making kustis, and prayer books in English and Gujarati; or that it runs the Gamadia Clinic and Polyclinic and the Parukh Dharamshala.

EFFECTIVE FOLLOW-UP & IMPLEMENTATION:

One of the weaknesses of the BPP is that no proper follow up is done on decisions taken by the Board. Several good decisions and worthy projects have been approved / passed by the Board in the last few years, but the record of implementation of these decisions and projects is dismal. There is no tracker system in place to monitor the progress of a project or any task assigned to a particular department. Many of these plans eventually just slip off the attention radar. I can say with certainty that I have the will and the persistence to make a positive difference in this regard.

 REVAMPING THE EMPLOYMENT BUREAU:

The pandemic has left many in our community without employment and an effective employment Bureau is the need of the hour. The revamp will introduce professionals in human resources and have links with professional human resource entities to help with the Employment Bureau.

 BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE BPP & ITS COLONIES:

I would like to initiate regular meetings with Colony Associations, Custodians and the BPP Engineers to discuss and find solutions to specific problems faced by each Baug. This I am convinced will also prevent many problems and issues cropping up at Baug level and the BPP Trustees will be kept informed of the various issues.

PR with Government & Institutions 

The BPP has to deal with many Government Agencies for its properties, and statutory compliances etc. It is essential to maintain good relations with the officers and staff of these Government Depts and other legal and financial Institutions so as to facilitate work. I intend to work on this.

BPP A BENEVOLENT LANDLORD:

In my opinion, the BPP should be a benevolent landlord and try and settle many more cases filed against occupants, unless of course there is blatant misuse of the premises or a breach of the terms of occupancy. After all, the properties under the care of the BPP are “of the community, by the community and for the community”!

SETTING UP A DHARMSHALA:

Mumbai does not have a good Dharamshala for out-of-town community members who visit Mumbai for medical treatment, weddings, navjotes, pilgrimage to our four Atash Behrams, business, work etc. Small towns and even other cities like Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad have dharamshalas which offer affordable, clean, comfortable accommodation to visiting community members. Mumbai needs a dharamshala. I intend to do my very best to set up one in Mumbai.

 On A Personal Note….

How does one judge the true worth of a candidate?

 The only way is by looking at the candidate’s track record of community service. A candidate who is totally devoid of having any record of community service shows a lack of having a genuine interest in the community’s wellbeing at heart. The sudden emergence of an individual claiming to be community spirited at election time, cannot be taken seriously. Ask the candidates for their track record of community service and it won’t be long before you will be able to distinguish the talkers from the doers.

Yours Sincerely,

 Anahita Yazdi Desai

9820284196

anahitadesai1@gmail.com