MP: Funds for Nepal relief come from toddler to 101-year-old
A 101-year-old man and a three-year-old child received special mention from MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as he launched the campaign for Nepal earthquake relief on Tuesday.
A 101-year-old man and a three-year-old child received special mention from chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as he launched the campaign for Nepal earthquake relief on Tuesday.
The centenarian, Moolchand, donated R250 while the toddler, Prateek Soni, contributed Rs 568 from his piggy bank to the relief fund.
Prateek's father Mohan Soni said his child has been following the news of the earthquake and when he was told about the fund-raising programme being held here, he asked Mohan to be taken there.
"Let's go and give the money (piggy bank savings) for the quake victims, Prateek told me. So I brought him here," the father said.
Contributions also poured in from the Bohra community (Rs 4.35 crore), Sikhs (Rs 51,000), Hemant Atriwal from Indore (Rs 5.5 lakh-plus), Mufti Abdul Razzak and a trader from Bhopal (Rs 1 lakh), and Hindu Utsav Samiti (Rs 51,000) among others.
Chouhan along with other religious leaders also observed a one-minute silence at 11am as a mark of tribute to about 7,500 people who died in the 7.9-magnitude earthquake in the Himalayan country on April 25.
Several programmes to observe silence for the earthquake victims were held across the state at government, non-government and individual levels.
Silence was observed at Raj Bhavan, Mantralaya, government offices, educational institutes, various industries and other places.
The chief minister urged the people of Madhya Pradesh to contribute for the relief of the earthquake victims in Nepal.
"Even if it is Re 1, every citizen should please contribute to the fund. We want to emphasise that it is not the money, but our sentiments that are with our affected brethren in Nepal. It would certainly give them the mental strength to handle the tragedy," he said.
Chouhan said everyone must help victims in Nepal with "open arms". "Let them know that entire MP is with them," he added.
He also highlighted that the fund-raising campaign would continue till May 15 and all contributions would be collected in the chief minister relief fund, which would then be handed over to the Prime Minister's relief fund for Nepal earthquake.
Meanwhile, Chouhan also paid homage to the 21 killed in the bus accident in Panna district on Monday.
After the programme, he moved to the business establishments in the Pir Gate area to collect donations for the relief fund personally.
He, however, wrapped up the activity, saying he did not want to disturb the routine in the old city.
FUND DEPOSIT
The Madhya Pradesh government has announced a bank account number (900710110009394 at Bank of India, Arera Hills branch) where citizens can make their contributions for the relief fund (IFSC Code BKID 0009007).