Our History

'Dr. Subhas Mukherjee Memorial Social Service Initiative' had started their welfare activities in Sundarban from 2015 under the leadership of Late Col. Bhupal Lahiri, 1971 war hero, a noted writer and philanthropist in association of Shri Subhrendu Ray Chaudhuri one of the veterans of Information Technology in India, a wellknown writer and philanthropist from the premises of Dr. Subhas Mukherjee Memorial Reproductive Biology Research Centre, Behala Industrial Estate, Kolkata.

The Research Centre was headed by late Prof. Sunit Mukherjee who assisted Dr. Subhas Mukherjee in giving birth to India's first test tube baby in 1978. We feel blessed that initially we got the opportunity in receiving Prof. Mukherjee's expert guidances to chalk out of our Nutrition Enhancement Program in Sundarban.

In fact, when our leader late. Col. Lahiri was invited to hoist Flag on15th August,2015 Independence day celebration in Nilkanthapur Free Primary School of Sunderban, he was shocked to see that a large numbers of students of that school were awfully malnourished. He decided to start some nutrition enhancement program in that school immediately and took Shri Ray Chaudhuri, one of the trustees of our present trust along with him to start the program from September. As such the program was inaugurated by them on 15th September, 2015 in that primary school. The students of the school were under a very successfully run Government sponsored Mid Day Meal Scheme that we planned through our Nutrition program to make more nutritious by adding some fruits, milk and additional eggs. Within a few months our Nutrition Enhancement Program in Nilkanthapur Free Primary School was so successful that a number of other primary schools in the surrounding area requested us to extend our Nutrition Program to their schools.

Meanwhile, we started receiving donations from our kind hearted friends, though initially the entire financial burden was borne by our two leaders Col. Lahiri and Shri Ray Chaudhuri. Soon our fund started growing, we extended our Nutrition Enhancement Program to two more schools viz. Joygopalpur Adibasi Free Primary School and Chunakhali Hatkhola Free Primary School within one year. Receiving further donations helped us to extend the program to three more schools viz. Anandabad Junior Basic School, Ranigarh C F S P School and Devnagar Junior Basic School before Covid Pandemic started marking our life almost static from March, 2020. Thus it jolted our further plan of bringing more primary schools under our Nutrition program.

Simultaneously, to modernise the educational system of the schools, we launched a program named 'Make a kid computer like rate' by setting up Computer Laboratories in those schools in association with a few corporate and welfare organisations like Software giant TCS, wellknown industrial house Patton International, wellknown welfare organisations like Inner Wheel Club of South Calcutta, Rotary Club of India and a number of our friends and relatives who donated their Desktops, Laptops and other accessories in setting up Computer Laboratories in thirteen Primary Schools in Basanti circle of Sundarban.

When Covid Pandemic struck our country followed by a few natural calamities like Amphan and YAS super cyclones we were engaged in a number of relief woks like Community Kitchens to flood affected villagers, Rebuilding Bengal for the villagers who lost their houses in the calamities. Under our mission of Rebuilding Bengal we consrtusted/reconstructed fifty one houses for those students whose houses/huts were severly damaged or washed away.

In 2019 our chief motivator Col. Bhupal Lahiri died in August, 2019. We planned to form a Trust in his memory in 2020, but we couldn't do so due to Covid Pandemic. Thus we had to wait till 2021 when we formed the trust 'Col. Bhupal Lahiri Memorial SSI Trust' and got it registered under Society Act.

Meanwhile, in the beginning of 2023 we started a new project 'Pathakoli', our own Educational Institution for extending pre primary education to the children of the underprivileged society of rural Bengal. Mr. Bibek Pal, chairman of our trust built a building for this institution while one of our trustees Shri Subhrendu Ray Chaudhuri and two of our noble hearted patrons Shri Subhendu Barik and Shri Samir Kabiraj of USA gave their financial support to build the infrastructures of 'Pathakoli'.

Our Nutrition Enhancement Program is supported by not only our kind hearted friends, but also by Nothern Virginia Bengali Associassion and Backbencher Club, both are from USA, who are providing nutrition supplements like Dried Milk and Soyabeen chunks to our Nutrition Enhancement Program.