Shri Ramachandran Kadannapalli, Hon'ble Minister for Ports,
Smt. K.K. Shailaja Teacher, Hon'ble Minister for Health,
Smt. P.K. Sreemathi Teacher MP,
Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, Chairman and Managing Director, VPS Health Care,
Shri P. Shahin, Chairman, Lubnath Shah Memorial Charitable Trust,
Shri Rajith Rajarathnam, Secretary, Lubnath Shah Memorial Charitable Trust,
Friends in media,
Sahodaree Sahodaranmare,
Ellaavarkkum Ente Namaskaaram.
I am very happy to address you after presenting the Aryabandhu Puraskar to Dr. Shamseer Vayalil, who has been serving the health-care sector through various institutions in India and abroad. I am also glad to launch the Jeevan Raksha App for the people of Kannur.
Let me at the outset, congratulate Dr. Shamseer Vayalilon receiving this Award. The title Aryabandhu calls to our mind, the memory and contributions of the Late P.K. Bappu, who had rendered great services to society, especially during the outbreak of Small Pox in 1925. The Arya Samaj had rightly named him Arya Bandhu, to recognize his philanthropic and people friendly activities.
I also compliment the Lubnath Shah Memorial Charitable Trustfor deciding to honor Dr. Shamseer Vayalil, whose involvement and timely actions had been a boon to our people during the recent Nipah outbreak. It is through such awards and recognitions that society often gets to know the greatness of many people around us.
Dr. Shamseer’s acumen as an entrepreneur is evident from the phenomenal growth of his business. A business empire in just over a decade, with 22 hospitals, 125 medical centers, one of the largest drug manufacturing units in the Gulf and above all, a human resource wealth comprising over 13000 staff, is not a small achievement. It is not surprising that he is the youngest to receive the Pravasi Bharatiya Sammaan which he got in 2014. The contributions he has made so far to society are global models in Corporate Social Responsibility.
The conduct of entrepreneurs should remind us of Gandhiji’s concept that a man comes into business for good and stays in it to do good. There are many economists who feel that doing a profitable business is in itself, a sign of social responsibility. But, companies and businessmen have found greater satisfaction in giving back to society a portion of what they have received from it as profit. While such gestures from business-houses are truly laudable, I feel that business houses could also make skill training for the educated unemployed a part of their outreach programmes.
At present, India and especially Kerala, is badly in need of professional skill training for the large mass of educated youth. The skills should also include the best practices in business so that many youngsters would be encouraged to become entrepreneurs in the future.
I am impressed by the Lubnath Memorial Charitable Trust and its activities which are guided by the memories of a dear friend who lost his life in a road accident. Their efforts in spreading awareness on road safety clearly express their love for the Late Lubnath Shah, who was a successful wrestler and a student of S.N. College, Kannur.
Today, as we launch this Jeevan Raksha App which seeks to provide information about life- saving services like Ambulance, Blood donation, hospital details etc, we are also reminded of the grave situation on our roads.
Kerala's economic review would tell us that nearly 1,300 new vehicles enter our roads every day and that the Vehicle density in our State is much higher than the national average. Kerala contributes only a mere 2.76% of India's population. But, sadly, out State accounts for over 7.8% of all traffic accidents and 8.4% of all injuries due to road accidents. The death rate from these accidents is also known to be very high.
As per Kerala State Police Records, 3915 people had lost their lives in road accidents in 2017. The number of road accidents registered in 2016 was 39,420, which was the highest in the last eight years.
What is really saddening is that those who are most affected by road accidents are the young people, and most of them are breadwinners of their households. The effect of a road accident is not limited to the injury or death of a person; it can even push entire families into poverty, since recovery from injuries often takes months or years.
Our society needs to be regularly educated about how injuries due to road accidents affect an individual. Many of us are also not aware of how to respond to an accident. As a person hailing from the Judiciary, I think it is my responsibility to remind you that helping accident victims should be treated at par with the Fundamental duties mentioned in our Constitution.In March 2016, the Supreme Court had approved the guidelines issued by the Centre for the protection of people who rescue accident victims. People who take victims to hospitals cannot be harassed by the police or any other authority.
But, even with such legal provisions in place, people prefer to look away when an accident occurs. What is most worrying is the sight of people using mobile phones to photograph the victim instead of calling an ambulance.
I hope the Jeevan Raksha App that we have released today will help people with information and bring a change in our response to accidents.
I also hope that many more youth organizations would come forward to create awareness about the need to follow the norms of road safety.
Let me once again congratulate Dr. Shamseer Vayalil on getting the Arya Bandhu Award and hope he would continue to serve society through his philanthropic activities.
I also wish the Lubnath Shah Memorial Trust all the best and compliment them for organizing this function in a befitting manner.
Ellavarkkum Ente Aashamsakal
Nanni
Jai Hind
***
