With devastating floods hitting Kerala over the past week, several organisations here have appealed to Delhiites to donate relief items that will be sent to the State.
As on Saturday, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Nurses’ Union had been collecting essential items for the past three days.
It would be airlifted to Kerala with the help of the Air Force and the Navy, the union said.
One shipment sent
The union has already sent one shipment with 27,000 kg of rice, daal, sanitary napkins, medicines and other items. The union is now appealing for more medicinal products, blankets, clothes and candles by Sunday evening, in preparation for the next shipment on Monday.
Union’s general secretary Vipin Krishnan said, “Everyone here in Delhi is cooperating. We have already collected 1 lakh sanitary napkins to send to Kerala. Our aim is to increase that to 2-3 lakh by the next shipment date.”
Similarly, AIIMS institutes across the country were participating in the donation drive, Mr. Krishnan said. In the National Capital Region, donations were being accepted at seven locations, including the AIIMS Nurses Union office near the SBI branch in Ansari Nagar and the students’ union office at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
The Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs Department (NORKA) office at Kerala House on Jantar Mantar Road also appealed for donations, including money, food items and medicines, at the earliest.
Goonj, an NGO that has worked in disaster relief, also appealed for donations here in Delhi and their offices all over the country, including Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Goonj co-founder Meenakshi Gupta said they were accepting donations at their Sarita Vihar head office as well as drop-off centres around Delhi, Gurugram and Noida. Among the items, Goonj appealed for medicines, blankets, clothes and candles.
