- Rotary Club of The Nilgiris, is part of R I Dist 3203 (Previously 3202 until 30th June 2021). The Club No.15875 was Chartered in 1941 and is Celebrating 82 years of Community Service.
- The first Rotary club in India was the Rotary Club of Calcutta chartered on 1 January 1920 and it sponsored the Rotary Club of Madras in 1929. The Rotary club of the Nilgiris was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Madras at the request of the late Lt Col KRK Iyengar. The historic inaugural meeting took place at the Coonoor Club on 18th June 1941 in the presence of Sir Arthur Hope, the then Governor of Madras Presidency. The club’s Charter No 5441 was signed on 25th November, 1941 and was presented to the club on 10th March, 1942 by the then District Governor Rtn HM Desai.
- Two Rotarians from the Rotary Club of the Nilgiris have been elected as District Governors, Rtn Lt Col KRK Iyengar for RI District 89 in 1942-43 and Rtn Sir CP Ramaswami for RI District 59 in 1952-53.
- Ever since its founding, the Rotary Club of the Nilgiris has carried out its role of service to the community through a variety of projects.
- Toda Welfare Scheme to rid the Toda community of diseases
- Intensive antibiotic treatment.
- Protected water supply and later,
- fully equipped hospital wards and medical equipment were donated for the benefit of the hill tribes.
- Following facilities for the tribal Welfare Hospital which comes under the banner of NAWA- Nilgiris Adivasi Welfare Association (Nurses Station, Maternity Ward, Nurses Rest Room & Operation Theatre).
- In 1980 the Rotary Club of the Nilgiris Charitable Trust was formed.
- Some significant projects of the Club:
- To mark the centennial of Rotary International, the LPG-based crematorium at the Cremation Ground of the Wellington Cantonment Board on the Coonoor-Ooty main road.
- The club celebrated its 75th year of committed service by marking the occasion with donating a latest model Digital X Ray machine to the Government Hospital at Coonoor known as Lawley Hospital.
- Establishment of a Dialysis unit in the Government Lawley Hospital, Coonoor to provide free dialysis to the patients of Coonoor and Kotagiri regions.
- Upgrading the Labour ward, Blood Bank, Neonatal ward and laboratory in the same hospital thus providing very much upgraded health care to our local community.
- Our club went on to renovate the Out Patient Department of the same hospital. The total renovation of the century old OPD was completed in a record time of 3 months with investments up to Rs.85 lakhs. As many as 400 out patients seek treatment every day here and the renovation and upgrading of this department has been a very significant requirement for needy people of Coonoor and its neighbouring areas.
- Our club also upgraded the facilities in the crematorium with investments running upto Rs.25 lakhs. The chimney tower was rebuilt at a cost of 18 lakhs. The trolley in the cremation chamber was mechanised and the garden and lanscaping was improved. The crematorium now has a new generator. It is being developed as a bio diversity park.
- Launching of the Advanced Life Saving Critical Care Cardiac Ambulance was another major service done by our club to the Nilgiris in 2022. The people of the district had always lacked this facility and this has been a very timely and meaningful project. The ALS ambulance was made available to the needy citizen of the district at a cost of Rs.26 lakhs.
- "Vaanga Padikkalam:” (Come let us Learn), our signature project in Education saw its third phase completed in 2023 with over 8000 books donated to more than 14 school libraries in and around Coonoor.
- The upgradation of the Bettatti School at a cost of nearly Rs.50 Lakhs is another step in providing quality education and facilities for the less privileged.
- The Dental & Ophthalmology ward at Govt Lawley Hospital has been upgraded to modern standards.
- The Palliative and Geriatric care unit has been commissioned at the Govt Lawley Hospital in order to provide quality healthcare to the elderly at an affordable cost. This project was completed at a cost of Rs 2.66 Crores