Navi Mumbai residents collect money to help family of milkman who died in accident

Residents of Phase II of NRI Complex in Seawoods, Navi Mumbai, have come forward to help the family of the milkman who died on Sunday in an accident. They are collecting funds from the residents to give it to the kin of the milkman; ₹32,000 have been collected so far

Residents of Phase II of NRI Complex in Seawoods have come forward to help the family of the milkman who died on Sunday in an accident. They are collecting funds from the residents to give it to the kin of the milkman.

Manoj Verma, who delivered milk in the morning and worked in a pharmacy during the day, died in a road accident on Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai on Sunday. Residents collected money to help the deceased milkman’s family. (HT PHOTO)

The 27-year-old Manoj Kumar Verma, who lost his life on Palm Beach road on Sunday, was a commerce graduate. He delivered milk in the morning and then worked in a pharmacy in Sanpada during the day to earn a living for his family.

He was not the sole earning member of his family but was the one who took care of his family’s needs. Eldest among three siblings, he wanted to get his 21-year-old sister who works at a departmental store married into a good family and also wanted to make sure that his 19-year-old brother who finished ITI in computers landed a good job. His mother is a homemaker while his father is a cobbler.

He had no plans to get married as his priority was to first get the siblings well settled. All the hopes and dreams of Verma’s family came down crushing by a Hyundai Verna car that rammed into Verma’s Scooty.

“The day was just starting for us as it was early morning and also a Sunday. That is when our neighbours informed us about the accident. We couldn’t believe it until we saw his body. We are currently at our hometown for the rituals and we have no clear idea of what the future has in store for us. It is very kind of the residents who have extended support to us,” Raju Verma, the youngest brother of Manoj, said.

Yamini Singh, a resident of the NRI Complex, who usually never forwards anything sensitive in the WhatsApp group of the society, happened to share the news of the accident of the complex’s milkman and photos of the accident that she received on Sunday.

“Someone in the group suggested that we should collect some funds for the family of the deceased and in the course of the discussion, I volunteered to collect the money and maintain the list. By Sunday night, the decision was made and gradually people started transferring the money generously. The idea is to help those who were dependent on him. At least for some time, the dependent should not face difficulties. This whole exercise of being of help to someone is very gratifying,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, Sanjeev Kumar, who is the admin of the group, said, “A few years back too, a security guard had lost life and we had collected funds for his family in a similar way. There is no compulsion on anyone and whoever wishes to, has been donating generously.”

By Tuesday afternoon, there was a total collection of ₹32,000 and the drive will continue till Sunday.