The Indian Association of Greater Boston held a meet-n-greet event with, Mr. Vijay Krishnan,  Consul for Community Affairs, Indian Consulate, NY on Saturday, March 27 at the Madras Grill in Chelmsford, MA. Community leaders from different organizations discussed their issues with the Consul. Members from Gurjar, New England Telugu Association, New England Tamil Association, Tamil Makkal Mandram, New England Malayalee Association, TIE, Team AID, Saheli, Ekal Vidyalaya and Indian Americans for Burlington were present at the event. Also present was New Hampshire Rep Lata Mangipudi. 

Mr. Vijay Krishnan outlined the accomplishments of the consulates while also describing the opportunities and the challenges faced by the consulate. “When we encounter a situation especially in an emergency we need the support of the community. We request all community organizations to register with us so we know you and can connect with you to share important information with you regarding visa, OCI etc. Also if an Indian citizen has a need and reaches out to us from your area we can connect them to you for support”

Mr. Krishnan described the challenges that COVID has posed. Many members of the consulate themselves were suffering from Covid. Yet many put in long hours, even working on Saturdays to ensure maximum support for the community. Mohan Nanapaneni of Team AID which supports people that are going through very difficult times applauded the Consul for his tremendous support and hard work. Rita Shah and Divya Chaturvedi, co-executive directors of Saheli also applauded the consulate for their support of victims of domestic violence. 

Mr. Krishnan said the community’s misuse of the emergency phone line was a big problem since then often real emergencies get delayed. The community members shared their concerns about the Visa and OCI process which Mr. Krishnan listened patiently and took notes. 

The event ended with a vote of thanks by IAGB President Sanjay Gowda who thanked the consul for taking the trip during the Pandemic and applauded him for his good work.