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Help pours in for Chandigarh bride’s wedding after fire destroys her home
Welfare arm of company donates Rs 1 lakh, trader and wife gift, saris, salwar kameez sets, anklets as well as beverages for wedding, money comes in from retired DSP, mayor and MC commissioner
She lost consciousness in shock after seeing her home, trousseau and her family’s belongings destroyed in a blaze that ripped through a tenement in Industrial Area’s Colony number 4 a day before her wedding, but good Samaritans in the city saw to it that Rupali could tie the knot on Monday at the Sector 29 community centre.
Family members who could not figure out last night if they should go ahead with the wedding after their home was among six shanties gutted in a fire, were extended help from all quarters.
Saris and silver anklets
A trader in Sector 20 turned up in the morning with saris, salwar kameez sets and silver anklets for the bride and bottles of water and beverages for the wedding. A retired deputy superintendent of Chandigarh police handed over a cheque of Rs 21,000 as shagun to her. The welfare arm of Allengers, a company making medical systems, donated Rs 1 lakh.
“Till late last night we did not know whether the wedding could be organised, but help came from all quarters,” said Rahul, the bride’s brother-in-law, who runs a makeshift tea stall.
Of the Rs 1 lakh contributed by Allengers Care Foundation, which works to uplift and support underprivileged sections of societies, Rs 50,000 was given in cash for wedding expenses and Rs 50,000 credited to Rupali’s account, Rahul added.
“The trader and his wife who brought the saris wanted to ensure Rupali does not go empty handed to her new home. Retired deputy superintendent of Chandigarh police, Ashwani Kumar, handed over cheque of Rs 21,000 as shagun to her.”
Mayor Raj Bala Malik and MC commissioner KK Yadav gave Rs 10,000 each to the bride while area councillor Shakti Prakash Devshali gifted Rs 5,000.
No expenses for venue
Malik also said that community centre charges would be waived for Rupali’s wedding.
“It’s because of people’s blessings that my daughter could get married. It had taken us a lot of efforts to find a match for her,” said Kalawati, mother of the bride.
The mayor and Devshali also distributed dry rations to the families who lost their shanties.
Vishvas Foundation had earlier donated blankets to all families whose homes were destroyed in Sunday’s fire and police organised meals for them.
Rupali and Kalawati make quilts in winter and husk mesh for water coolers in summer, supplementing their income by selling sugarcane juice.
