BMVSS’ executive chairman Padma Shri Veerendra Raj Mehta passes away

By Prakash Bhandari 

 

Jaipur. Veerendra Raj Mehta, 90, a former senior specialist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila breathed his last in a Delhi hospital on March 13. He was the elder brother of the founder and the chief patron of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), D R Mehta.

Veerendra Raj Mehta was a social worker and a recipient of India’s highest civilian award, Padma Shri in 2015.

Mehta belonged to the famous Ladnun House family of Jodhpur. He was an engineering graduate from BITS, Pilani and was the Executive President of BMVSS – the parent body of the world-famous “Jaipur Foot”. The BMVSS is the world’s leading organization for the rehabilitation of the disabled.

Earlier, Mehta served as a Joint Secretary to the Government of India, and was also a trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.

Mehta is credited with taking Jaipur Foot beyond the Indian boundaries. He founded the Mahaveer Philippines Foundation Inc. (MPFI) and has established three centers of prosthetic makers in the Philippines.

He was honored by the Philippines House of Representatives in 2010 and was presented with the key to the city of Manila in 1993. He also co-authored a book titled, “Mother Teresa – Inspiring Incidents” with his wife Vimla Mehta, based on their close association of 15 years with Mother Teresa and her work in Manila, Philippines.

In 2017, he organized an artificial limb fitment camp in Manila which was visited by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a visit to the Philippines. In this camp, 753  persons were rehabilitated.

Rich tributes were paid to Veerendra raj Mehta at a condolence meeting of the BMVSS in Jaipur this week, in which the founder and the chief patron D R Mehta, honorary secretaries Bhupendra Mehta and Dr Deependra Mehta, and the Chief Executive Officer  RK Agarwal were present. Mehta is survived by his wife Vimla,  son and educationist Prof Shailendra Raj Mehta and daughter Sandhya Mehta-Harwitz, who is based in the US.

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