Praja Rajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi’s roadshow for collection of donations for the flood victims of the State received tremendous response in the city on Saturday.
Thousands of people including women and children literally choked the route taken by the Megastar by standing all over the roads awaiting his arrival. It took over three hours for the convoy to cover a distance of about four kilometres from Gurudwara junction to Jagadamba.
Later, addressing a media conference at the airport, Mr. Chiranjeevi expressed gratitude to the people of the city for their warmth and affection for their tremendous response to the roadshow. “Our (people’s) gesture will rejuvenate their spirits. We should make the hapless flood victims that we are behind them in their hour of crisis.”
“I was touched by the gesture of a coolie woman who took out Rs.100 note from her sari fold and put it in our collection box. It’s not the amount but her concern for fellow citizens and her attitude in wanting to help them in her own way that counts,” he said. Replying to queries, he said that PRP has already collected and sent bags of rice and other essential commodities towards flood relief in other districts. To another question, the total amount collected on Saturday was not yet known but he expressed confidence that it would run into lakh of rupees.
“We (PRP leaders) will go personally and distribute the relief material in the flood-affected areas as that would be doing justice to the donors who have reposed faith in us,” he said and added that the future programme (road shows for raising donations) was yet to be decided.
Referring to the State Government expressing its inability to compensate tenant farmers who lost their livelihood in the floods, Mr. Chiranjeevi said that they should also be compensated. He added that he would write to the Prime Minister in this regard.
