Mumbai’s religious institutions extend helping hand to victims of Kerala floods

On Wednesday, Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust in Prabhadevi declared that they would be donating an amount of Rs 1 crore to the chief minister’s Kerala relief fund.

“We were watching the tragedy in Kerala on TV and felt really bad for those affected. So we called a special meeting of the trust and decided that we also need to do our bit for the flood-affected people, as it’s a noble cause,” said Aadesh Bandekar, chairperson, Siddhivinayak Temple Trust.

Like the Siddhivinayak trust, various other religious organisations are also extending a helping hand to those affected by floods in Kerala.

Sri Guru Singh Sabha at Dadar has been conducting a collection drive on the gurudwara premises. As a part of the drive, eight volunteers from the gurudwara have been sent to Kerala to help the victims there. The first set of volunteers left the city with four tonnes of goods on Wednesday afternoon.

Kulwant Singh, the vice-president of the sabha, said that the volunteers carried milk powder, sanitary napkins, rice, sugar and dal, and will be working along with Khalsa Aid, an international NGO, in Kerala.

“Our tickets got confirmed at the last minute under special reservation, and the railways took into consideration that we are carrying relief grains to Kerala. So they didn’t charge us for the four tonnes of raw materials that we were carrying along with us. In fact, they even carried out the packing of the parcels,” said Manjeet Singh, a volunteer from the sabha, who went to Kerala.

More than 100 mosques and eidgahs across the state also collected donations worth more than Rs 10 lakh. A student group has also sent funds raised by selling skins of sacrificed animals during Eid for flood relief work in Kerala.

The collection was conducted by various masjids, trusts and NGOs, following which food supplies and medical aid would be purchased and sent to the flood-affected state. “While we celebrated Eid yesterday, we cannot forget that our brothers and sisters in Kerala are in pain. We are with them during this time of grief and will be sending massive donations to Kerala,” said Zainuddin Siddiqui, state public relations secretary, Students Islamic Organisation of India.