Better late than never ?

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Jan. 7: Mr Abdul Barek, deputy commandant, Home Guards, was selected as the recipient of the President’s award for meritorious services on 26 January, 2006, but owing to lack of communication, he could not receive the award from the then President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. The state authorities had decided to hand over the medal on 6 December, 2007, the Civic Defence Day, but Mr Barek could not attend the programme in Kolkata because he was not informed on time. The deputy secretary, civic defence, Mr SS Majumdar, informed the matter to the director general and the commandant general (Home guards) to intimate Mr Barek to attend the programme. But the letter was sent on 6 December . In both the cases, Mr Barek was informed on the day of the ceremony. Mr Barek was first intimated on 26 January, 2006, by a telegram sent by the then Union home secretary, when he was working at the English Bazaar police station in Malda. The home secretary simply had conveyed the information by congratulating Mr Barak as one of the recipients of the President award as a recognition of his meritorious service. “I was taken aback after receiving the telegram. I thought at first that it was a bad news. After I found out, I was delighted,” he said.But I was not in a position to attend the programme in Delhi which was a dream come true,” Mr Barek told reporters yesterday evening at a press conference at the Malda Muslim Institute Hall. It may be noted that the Malda SP recommended Mr Barek's name on 11 May, 2005, for the award as the deputy commandant, Home guards. Mr Barek had wrote to the Union home secretary and asked as to how he would collect the award, after he failed to attend the programme on 26 January 2006. The Union home department had sent the award to the state for handing it over to the recipient. “I could not attend the programme again. But I went to Kolkata and received the medal on 13 December”, Mr Barek told reporters.