Nothing but books as Diwali present

SURAT: District collector Dhaval Patel, who was in the news recently for discarding smarthphone and also social media, has again surprised people with a notice put up outside his office here, requesting well-wishers to only gift

books

instead of sweets or other products to him.


The notice on a plain paper starts with Diwali and New Year greetings and seeks to convey a message to all those visiting the collectorate.

It says, “‘Apni shubhkamnao amulya chhe. Mithaio k bhetsogad api tenu avmulyan karsho nahi’(Your wishes are precious, don’t degrade it by giving sweets or gifts). ‘Aa Diwali gamta manas ne sara pustako bhet api navo chilo chataria’ (This Diwali lets start a new tradition by gifting good books to beloved persons).’”

The notice has been put up at the entrance of the district collector’s office in Jilla Seva Sadan in Athwalines. The notice not only surprised visitors, but officers at the collectorate too.

“People give gifts to government officers with some motive. Therefore, I thought of discouraging this practice and put up this notice. It would be difficult to inform each visitor individually and tough to convince all and hence I put up the notice at the entrance of the collector’s office. However, gifting a book is a good idea any day,” Patel said.

Earlier, Patel had stopped using social media and also smartphone. Some officers of Surat district collectorate followed in his footsteps. Patel had joined civil services after MBBS and doing postgraduation in Sanskrit.

Majura mamlatdar Rajendra Chaudhary was recently booked for accepting bribe of Rs7 lakh through his driver. Chaudhary was arrested on October 28 from near Chikhli. Majura falls under the jurisdiction of Surat district collectorate. The district collector in a subtle way is trying to ask his staff to lead a simple and honest life, sources said.

See more: Dhanteras 2024: Rituals traditions celebrations across India and what to buy

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.