The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) recently honoured Consul (Visa & Attestation) Vijay Shankar Prasad of the Indian Consulate in New York for his exemplary service during a farewell event held at the Akbar Restaurant in Edison, New Jersey.
Prominent Indian American community leaders, attended the event during which FIA chairman Ankur Vaidya praised Prasad and his colleagues for their work during the COVID lockdown, when the Indian Consulate in New York was the only place in the United States where emergency visas were provided
He also lauded the consulate staff for their role in the Government of India's Vande Bharat campaign, which was initiated in May 2020 to repatriate Indian residents stuck abroad owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Past president of FIA and chairman of the Bihar Association, Alok Kumar, emphasized the significance of acknowledging the risks and sacrifices Prasad and the NY Consulate team made throughout the pandemic to continue providing essential services to vulnerable tourists.
Present at the occasion, along with Alok Kumar and Ankur Vaidya were TV ASIA chairman H.R. Shah, FIA's executive vice president Dr. Avinash Gupta, Jt. vice president Smita Miki Patel, general secretary Nishi Dhami, past president and member of the board of trustees Srujal Parikh, Bipin Patel, Jayesh Patel, Dipak Patel, and Kanubhai Chauhan.
The press release highlighted the close collaboration between the FIA and the Indian Consulate, the complimentary consular services offered by the NY Indian Consulate, and Prasad and his team's regular weekend trips to the ten East Coast states that the Indian Consulate in New York serves to ensure that the communities there received services at their doorstep.
