Surat (Gujarat) [India], December 29: PP Savani group, Surat’s prominent educational and real estate organisation, has entered the India Book of Records for its unique feat, where about 1 lakh people from different walks of life took the pledge for voluntary organ donation.
The record was set at the unique mass wedding event ‘Dikri Jagat Janani’ of 300 fatherless girls initiated by Mahesh Savani, realtor and social activist of the PP Savani Group and Jhanvi Lab-grown diamonds to celebrate the decade-long service of marrying the destitute girls in Surat.
The donors took oath in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Minister of State for Railways and Textiles Darshana Jardosh, Union Cabinet Minister Purshotam Rupala, Union Minister for Health Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, MP and State President Gujarat BJP C R Patil, Ministers from the Gujarat cabinet and other dignitaries from government and other sectors on December 25.
The event was graced by noted organ donation inspirers like Dilipdada Deshmukh (Founder of Organ Donation Charitable Trust), Nilesh Mandlewala of Donate Life Foundation and Piyush Gondaliya of Jeevandeep Organ Donation Foundation at Abrama village in Mota Varachha.
The unique record was set with the support of PP Savani Group and Jeevandeep Organ Donation Foundation Trust, 1,38,283 people decided to donate organs and more organ donation forms are being received every day.
According to the PP Savani group, people from different walks of life, including the members, staff, employees, and workers, of the PP Savani group took the pledge to donate their organs after their death. The entire ground at Abrama Village was teeming with people as more than 1 lakh people participated in the event.
Mahesh Savani of the PP Savani group started the initiative of marrying fatherless daughters in 2012. In a decade of his selfless service to society, Savani has married off about 4,572 fatherless girls in the mass wedding ceremonies held every year in December.
Many other individuals and companies are coming forward for the noble cause of marrying fatherless daughters. This time around, Vallabhbhai Jivani, owner of Jalpa Diamond, shouldered the responsibility of Kanyadaan of about 11 fatherless daughters from Gariyadhar in Saurashtra out of the total 300 daughters from different states. Jivani Diamond pledged to take care of the financial and other responsibilities of the fatherless girls after their marriage.
“We are not only giving Kariyavar (gifts given by the bride’s father to the bride and her relatives) but also shoulder all the responsibility of our daughters throughout their marriage life,” said Mahesh Savani of PP Savani group. “We shoulder all the responsibility of our daughters’ families related to education, health and other responsibilities”, said Vipul Talaviya, Administrator of PP Savani Hospital and Media Convener of PP Savani Group.
Mahesh Savani, a prominent educationist of the PP Savani group, said, “This was the first time that such a huge congregation of people took a pledge for organ donation at one place in Surat. We wanted to set an example for others to work diligently in the field of organ donation and save the lives of countless patients requiring organ transplantation.”
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel praised the organ donation drive of the PP Savani group and exhorted other organisations and institutions to follow in their footsteps to help patients in need. “It is the best example of service to the society depicted by PP Savani Group and Mahesh Savani. It is a record of sorts where 1 lakh people took the pledge to donate their vital organs.”