NEW YORK CITY (TIP): Deputy Consul General of India in New York Dr. Manoj Mohapatra hosted a reception with the community to welcome the new Consul General, Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das on Saturday March 12, 2016 in the Consulate’s ballroom.

Introducing the new Consul General, Manoj Mohapatra who has been holding the fort for about a month, after the transfer of the Consul General Ambassador Dnyaneshwar M Mulay to Delhi, said that prior to joining the post of Consul General of India in New York, Ambassador Das was Ambassador of India to Romania, Albania & Moldova with residence in Bucharest.

A large number of prominent guests including dignitaries which included Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, Special Advisor to the U.N. Ambassador Vijay Nambiar, Former PR Ambassador Hardeep Puri, Ambassador Mrs. Lakshmi Puri, Assistant SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, attended the event.

Deputy Consul General Dr Mohapatra introduced and welcomed the Consul General, followed by remarks from a number of guests. Those who spoke on the occasion included Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, Vijay Nambiar, H.R. Shah, Sudhir Parikh, Yashpal Soi, Prof. Indrajit S Saluja and Dr. Seema Jain.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Das said she was overwhelmed by the warm welcome and assurances of support. She said she understood well the formidable challenges she has before her, given the vast territorial jurisdiction of the New York Consulate and the large number of the Indian American community. She spoke of the high volume of work- nearly 1000 documents a day-but added quickly the Consulate was not daunted by the work. She said she would deal with issues and challenges.

Ambassador Das underscored the importance of working together. She appealed to the gathering to extend their support to the Consulate for the best services.

The Consul General had a special word of appreciation for her deputy Manoj Mohapatra about whom she said she depended on him for a lot of her work.