They may be 3,000-odd kilometres away, but that hasn’t stopped residents of the city from helping with the relief effort for Kashmiris, over 200 of whom have died in the devastating floods that have hit the state.
Two hundred and fifty cartons of relief material are expected to leave via Air India over the next 24 hours. Over the last two weeks or so, Chennai-based individuals and organisations both have put together over 2,000 kg of material and a few lakhs in cash to send to the thousands stranded and in need of aid in Jammu and Kashmir.
Surge of aidAt the clinic of Talat Salim, cartons are piled on practically every inch of available space.
So far, Dr. Talat said, about 250 cartons containing medicines, baby food, warm clothes, biscuits, torches, bleaching powder, chlorine, spices and blankets have been packed and are ready to go.
“We started in a small way but all of Chennai has contributed. The backbone of this drive has been Zubeida Azgar Ali, president of Muslim Women’s Association as well as seafood exporter Salim Iqbal. We have enough material now for another 500 cartons,” she said.
Dr. Talat is hoping to go to Kashmir with four other doctors, and work at the Mubarak Hospital in Srinagar, as well as set up a floating clinic in Srinagar and a medical camp in Pulwama. “There are still many affected parts in south Kashmir that have not been reached and we want to get there to help,” she said.
The Lions Club of Chennai Skyline has helped Dr. Talat’s efforts, with contributions amounting to about Rs. 15 lakh, said V.S.B. Sunder of Lions District 324A1. “The next 300 cartons will leave later,” he said.
Corporates join, tooAt AID India, several corporates too have contributed material, said volunteer Selva Ganapathy. The organisation is planning to send truck-loads of material to Goonj, a Delhi-based NGO, which will then send them to Srinagar, he said. “So far, we have about 100 kg of material, but more is needed. One truck will leave this weekend, and we will send a truck every few days if we get more aid,” he said.
Around Rs. 2 lakh has been sent to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund through the Down Syndrome Association of Tamil Nadu, said Surekha Ramachandran, president. “We are still collecting funds and are asking everybody we know to contribute,” she said.
For Femina Fazal a friend of Dr. Talat’s, Tuesday was a long day. “The packing has been on since morning and it has been hectic. But there’s still lots more to do,” she said.
