By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Omana Gangadharan has become the first Indian to don the prestigious Civic Ambassador’s chain and badge worn by the speakers of municipal corporations in England.
She is a councillor in England, elected on the Labour Party ticket, and the civic ambassador of the London Borough of Newham.
“This is the first time this chain and badge arrive on Indian soil, and I am really proud of the fact that I wear it,” said Omana.
Omana, who hails from Changnacherry, about 120 km from here, was speaking to reporters here Thursday.
“I have been living in England for the past 34 years, and my one-year tenure as civic ambassador ends this May. This badge will then go to a Pakistani, who is currently the ‘deputy speaker’,” said Omana, who has also authored a few novels in Malayalam.
Her future plan was to enter the ‘House of Lords’, Omana added.
An active campaigner of HIV AIDS programmes, Omana has brought Rs.10,000, collected by children studying at the Langdon School in West Ham.
“This was raised by the school children there, and it would be handed over to an NGO in the Kottayam district, which works among HIV AIDS patients. This fund was raised after the news came out that a few HIV positive children were ousted from a school in Kottayam. They have also sent me a message, ‘ Let them live’, to be passed on to the school authorities here,” said Omana.