Mr. Avinash Rai Khanna, the Vice Chairman of the IRCS, is providing astute leadership towards efficient functioning of the Indian Red Cross Society. His endeavours have been crucial towards strong NHQ – State Branches’ relationship which results into timely interventions of the IRCS.

In pursuit of this the Vice Chairman visited Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Branches of the IRCS. During the visit from 21st to 23rd October 2016 he was accompanied by Mr. Manish Choudhary, Deputy Secretary, IRCS.

Reflecting upon the purpose of the visit he said, “I want to observe and discuss their programs and activities so that Nhq could contribute in strengthening of their activities and introduce new ones in some of the areas”.
Shri Khanna visited the IRCS Warehouse at Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu on 21 Oct 2016 which is about 90 kms from Chennai. The Vice Chairman observed the structure and reviewed its functioning in general and during emergency situations. He provided valuable suggestions to further improve the operational capacity of the warehouse. He also suggested exploring the possibility of improved utilization of the warehouse premises for other activities of the IRCS.

Speaking after the visit he mentioned, “The regional warehouses of IRCS across the country have potential to become the centrs of excellence for disaster preparedness and response”.

On 22 October the Vice Chairman visited the IRCS Tamil Nadu State Branch. He was taken around the State Branch premises and showed the ongoing activities. This was followed by a discussion on the programs being implemented in Tamil Nadu with focus on the activities being implemented with the support of Red Cross movement partners of the IRCS, primarily– the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of the Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The discussion was targeted on improved management and implementation of partner supported programs. There was also a discussion on how to further strengthen the communication and functionality between the IRCS NHQ and State Branch during disaster situation. The existing disaster response mechanism was reviewed and he further suggested the ways by which it could be improved further.

On 23 October Vice Chairman was at Hyderabad. Here he interacted with governance of IRCS State Branches of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Next day, the Vice Chairman and the Deputy Secretary visited Kurnool and Mahaboobnagar districts in AP & Telangana respectively accompanied with the state branch officials. The visiting team interacted with the local leadership and also observed some of their activities in the communities.

“It is important to continue our efforts to improve the capacity of the IRCS District Branches as most of the times they are the first ones to initiate response & relief in case of any disaster or emergency” - Mr. Avinash Rai Khanna, Vice Chairman, IRCS

On the initiative of the Vice Chairman, the visit to the branches was arranged where the three State Branches got a chance to showcase their programmes and discuss their future course of action. While the State Branches benefitted from the expert inputs from the VC, the VC and the DS got an opportunity to get acquainted with the field realities which shall help the NHQ’s working with other State & District Branches.