Nine-year-old in Gurgaon sells books to raise money for dogs

Neal Batra has collected over Rs. 2,000 by selling 56 books. He intends to use the money to buy food for stray dogs.

A nine-year-old boy is selling his old comics through social media websites to raise money to feed stray animals.

Neal Batra has already raised over Rs. 2,000 by selling 56 books, including Archie comics and Jungle Book.(Abhinav Saha/HT Photo)

Neal Batra, an animal lover and student of The Shri Ram Aravali School, has collected over Rs. 2,000 by selling 56 books. He intends to use the money to buy food for abandoned and stray dogs.

“I love animals and have plenty of stray dogs as friends. My closest friend is a young dog Chumpie. We play in the evening and I never leave a chance to feed the dogs in my colony. With the money raised, I will buy food for the animals,” Neal Batra said.

An avid reader, Neal sold his collection including Archie comics, Jungle Book and Pokemon for Rs. 30 each. Neal posted information about the books on Facebook groups through his mother’s profile. Interested people visited his house in Nirvana Country to buy the books.

“I had already read the books and instead of stacking them in the book shelf, I thought of using them to raise funds. Each book came at a market price of at least Rs. 250 but we made it available for Rs. 30,” Neal said.

“My parents have always motivated me to do good for the underprivileged. My work does not stop with this. I am already working on another plan,” Neal said.

In the coming days, Neal plans to sell baked cakes. He expects to raise more funds by selling bakery items.

‘I enjoy baking cakes and tried my hand at a few dessert recipes too,” Neal said.