Engage with people, Kiran Bedi tells babus, netas

Bengaluru: Both politicians and officials must mingle and engage themselves with people to solve many of the problems faced by the society, Dr Kiran Bedi, former IPS officer and former Lieutenant Governor of Pondicherry said.

Delivering the keynote address at the 3rd edition of the G C Surana Conclave, organized by Surana College on Sunday, Bedi said, "It is essential that officials in key positions in government make good use of their leadership. When I started working as an IPS officer, there was no communication between the officers. The same thing prevailed in Pondicherry. In order to rectify this, programs were held to encourage people to trust our administration. In addition, the practice of mingling with the people and the heads of each department and examining the development work itself was developed. This made development work much faster. We should not do things with the impression that someone is recognizing them, we should recognize our own work."

Bedi wanted students to achieve prosperity by having purpose and perseverance while putting people in the front. She commended the work of Dr Archana Surana, Managing Trustee of Surana College, for achieving the 25-year milestone.

Earlier, inaugurating the conclave Minister for Higher Education Dr. C N Ashwathnarayana said, "Today's academic scores are not the criteria for getting a job. It is important to embrace sports, personality development and leadership qualities. Our educational standards have been changed by the new nation's education policy."

The minister said Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India is a land of opportunities and the reason for India's brain gain. On the occasion, Kiran Bedi, Dr Ramana Rao, renowned cardiologist, Dr H R Appannaiah, scholar and writer and Dr Mahantesh, Founder of Samarthanam Trust, were honoured with the GC Surana Leadership Awards. The conclavemarked the silver jubilee celebrations of Surana Educational Institutions.

The alumni who have made the college proud in various fields includefilm directorPannagaBharana, actress Karunya Ram, renowned percussionist V Manjunath NS, and classical dancer Sujay Shaunbag participated in the event. Over 40 alumni of the college were felicitated with the GC Surana achievement awards. The day concluded with an alumni cultural extravaganza where Vasuki Vaibhav, music composer and Apoorva Sagar, film actress enthralled the audience.