Page 26 - The Indian EYE 021023

NORTH AMERICAN Newsline FEBRUARY 10, 2023 | The Indian Eye 26

Long Island couple organize Eye Camp

for the needy in Punjab

OUR BUREAU
Long Island, NY
ormer Commissioner of Nassau
County Varinder Bhalla, a native
Fof Amritsar in the Punjab state of
India celebrated the life and legacy of
his late father on the 50th anniversary
of his passing by organizing an eye camp
for free eye exam and eyeglasses for the
underprivileged.
The event was also marked by a Lan-
gar, a community meal served to over
1000 people as well as distribution of
groceries to the poor families in the area.
The event was conceived by Ratna
Bhalla, former Deputy Commissioner
of Nassau County who inspired her hus-
band to commemorate the half century Om Parkash Soni, Former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, with Satish Bhalla delivering groceries to needy women.
mark of his father who passed away on
January 25, 1973.
The eye camp was supported by
a team of eye specialists from the re-
nowned BSLN Eye Hospital in Gan-
ga Nagar, established by Shree Kumar
Swami, a spiritual guru acclaimed for his
charitable works.
Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Member of
India’s Parliament, Om Parkash Soni,
former Deputy Chief Minister of Pun-
jab and Sandeep Rishi, Commission-
er of Amritsar were the notables who
gathered to pay homage to the late
Chaman Lal Bhalla whose exemplary
support of a local school for the blind
inspired the Bhalla family to carry on his
tradition of giving back to the society.
The Bhallas of Long Island also
run a food bank in India’s capital city
where surplus food from hotels, airlines
and industry kitchens is distributed to
the needy. Since its inception in 1991,
the AWB Food Bank named after their
mother Agya Wanti Bhalla, has distrib-
uted nearly 15 million meals to the or-
phans, widows and the other disadvan-
taged and vulnerable in New Delhi. ^ Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Member of India’s
The elder Satish Bhalla acknowl- Parliament joins Rajesh Bhalla and Satish
edged that the current charitable en- Bhalla to distribute food at the Langar, a
deavors of the Bhallas are simply an ex-
tension of the humanitarian works of his community meal.
late parents.
The Senate and the General Assem-
bly of the state of New Jersey passed a
joint resolution to recognize “Shri Cha-
man Lal Bhalla in appreciation of the < Optometrist Suresh Kamboj checking the
immeasurable contributions he made eye sight of one of 200 people who attended
throughout his lifetime in furtherance of
the common good.” CLB Eye Camp.

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