Amar Singh Club holds AGM; elects Managing Committee, awards members

15 January 2024

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Srinagar, Jan 15: The Annual General Meeting of Amar Singh Club was successfully conducted on Saturday, 13 January, 2024. The Lt Governor who is the Club President nominated Vijay Kumar Bidhuri IAS, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir to preside over the Annual General Meeting and Minga Sherpa IAS, presently Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla as Returning Officer for conducting the elections.

The Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh had also appointed Advocate Khushnuma Chowdhary, as Commissioner for supervising the conduct of election proceedings.

According to a statement issued to Ziraat Times, a record number of Club members participated in the elections which were held in mid-winters for the first time. A total of 301 votes were cast by members out of which 19 were rejected by the Returning Officer. In another first, members who were out of Kashmir or unable to cast their votes personally because of health reasons voted through whatsapp and email under the amendments made to the Club Constitution by the General Body in 2022.

The Honorary Secretary Nasir Hamid Khan, in his address gave an overview of the measures taken by the Managing Committee for augmentation of revenue and upgradation of various Club facilities for the members. He highlighted the various amendments made to the Club Constitution by the General Body which had resulted in all members having the opportunity to participate in the elections and also empowerment of women by providing equal privileges and rights to the Spouse Members.

The Honorary Secretary acknowledged the intervention of the Hon’ble Club President Manoj Sinha Ji in providing members the opportunity to elect a Managing Committee in the year 2021 after a gap of more than 6 years and again in 2023. The end of adhocism had resulted in the Club embarking on a path of remarkable growth headed towards being counted amongst the most prestigious Clubs of the country.

He appreciated the spirit of harmony and brotherhood amongst members that had helped the Club grow phenomenally in the previous two years. He thanked the outgoing Managing Committee and the Club Staff for the stellar performance and support during their term.

The Honorary Secretary drew the attention of the Chairman and the General Body towards the re-occupation of the Club Guest House and more than 20 kanals of Club Land by the CRPF which resulted in a recurring monthly loss of more Rs 4 lakhs to the Club and impeded developmental projects of the Club. Apart from the financial loss, the Club had been unable to provide accommodation to members of affiliated Clubs which adversely impacted existing affiliations and also hindered proposed tie-ups with premium Clubs across the country. He informed the Chairman that in the year 2015 the CRPF was provided alternate space by the State Government at Rajbagh and the Cricket Stadium in lieu of the Guest House and grounds after which the Club premises were duly vacated. The Club Management invested a substantial amount in refurbishing the Guest House but same was re-occupied in August 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370 without any formal sanction authorising the re-occupation. No rent has been received and electricity arrears of more than Rs 80 lacs remained unsettled. The Honorary Secretary sought the intervention of the Government for release of Club property to the management.

On the recommendations of the Managing Committee, Shri V K Bidhuri presented Outstanding Club Member Awards to:

Dr Tejinder Singh Sethi;
Mr Abdul Majeed Mattu;
Dr Habib Ullah;
Mr Syed Niyaz Ahmad

For their excellence in services, cash awards of Rs 15,000 each were presented to the following Club Staff:

Mehraj U Din Barati
Nasir Ahmad Wani
Ali Mohammed

V K Bidhuri in his address to the General Body appreciated the rich history of Amar Singh Club. He stated that the growth of the Club as detailed by the Honorary Secretary was impressive and he was happy to see how the management was not only honoring it’s members but also encouraging the Club’s hard working employee’s through cash awards. He advised members that being associated with the Club they should always be conscious of the prestige and glory of the Club. He assured the General Body that issues requiring interventions from the Government would be taken up with concerned authorities.

The Returning Officer, Minga Sherpa declared contestants 1 to 8 elected to the Managing Committee as under:

S No.	Name	Votes
1	Nasir Hamid Khan	273
2	Parvez Ahmed Bakshi	273
3	Abid Shamas	267
4	M Iqtidar Durrani	267
5	Rauf A Punjabi	265
6	Mohd Anwar Mir	265
7	Parvez Ahmed Fazili	262
8	Maninder Singh Sethi	250
9	Tanvir Ahmad Malik	38
10	Surinder Singh	30

After the declaration of results, the Managing Committee elected Nasir Hamid Khan as Acting Secretary in terms of Article 20(2) of the Club Constitution.