Pune: Mahesh Suryawanshi has been unanimously elected president of the Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Sarvajanik Ganpati Trust for a five-year term from 2026 to 2031. The decision was taken at a meeting of the trust's board of trustees held on Monday. Former president Sunil Rasane has been elected treasurer.
Suryawanshi, a civil engineer and construction businessman, has been associated with the trust's activities for several decades. He became actively involved in 1984 through the Suvarnayug Tarun Mandal and joined its executive committee in 1996. He was appointed a trustee of the Dagdusheth Halwai Trust in 2001 and took charge as treasurer in 2010.
His father, advocate Shankarrao Suryawanshi, was the founding treasurer of the trust. Mahesh has also contributed to the trust's social initiatives, including the construction of a childcare centre and an old-age home in Kondhwa, Pune, using his expertise as a civil engineer.
Emphasising his vision for the organisation, Suryawanshi said, "A public charitable trust should not become a centre of power, but a centre for service to humanity. I am committed to carrying forward this vision and strengthening the trust's work for society."
As per the succession plan decided at an earlier meeting, Manik Chavan served as president from 2022 to 2024, followed by Sunil Rasane from 2024 to 2026. Hemant Rasane is scheduled to take over as president for the subsequent five-year term from 2031 to 2036.
