The Hindu : New Delhi News : Relief pours in for tsunami victims

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 31, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Relief pours in for tsunami victims

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, DEC. 30. The mounting death toll due to the tsunami catastrophe has moved a large number of organisations as well as individuals in Delhi and provided momentum to the collection of relief and rescue materials in aid of the disaster victims.

In a swift initiative, around three-dozen non-government and community organisations, social and political groups and students' bodies have formed the "Delhi Tsunami Relief Fund" besides setting up the "Delhi Tsunami Relief Committee" to raise money and provide immediate relief to the affected communities. The Committee has urged people to contribute towards the fund at the Indian Social Institute, 10, Institutional Area, Lodi Road in the Capital.

The Committee and its members are mobilising people to provide food, medicines and shelter materials to those in need. The Committee has said that its priority was to support the worst-affected villages and hamlets in Andaman & Nicobar and Tamil Nadu. It would be channelling support through local organisations that were working directly with affected communities for rehabilitation and restoration of livelihoods.

Major organisations that are part of the movement includes All India Students' Federation, All India Trade Union Congress, All India Youth Federation, ANHAD, ANKUR, AVARD, Centre for Education and Communication, Christian Aid, CITU, Delhi Forum, Environics Trust, Gandhi Peace Foundation, Guild of Service, HAQ -- Centre for Child Rights, Human Rights Law Network, Hind Mazdoor Sabha, Indian Social Institute, JAGORI, JNU Students' Union, JNU Teachers' Association, KRITI, Labour File, National Fishermen's Forum, Nirantar, Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy, PRASAR, Research Foundation for Science and Technology, SAHELI, SAPI-JESA, SRUTI, The Other Media, Worldwide Fund for Nature and Youth for Peace.

Similarly, in a noble gesture, "Badthe Kadam -- A Federation of Street and Working Children" collected Rs.2,100 from their earnings and donated to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. Another NGO -- HelpAge India -- has sent three mobile medicare units equipped with doctors and medical supplies to provide round-the-clock rescues and relief in affected areas.

The managing committee of Gulmohar Sports-cum-Community Centre has contributed Rs.70,000 and has cancelled its New Year's Day celebrations. It has also urged Gulmohar Park residents to donate generously for tsunami-affected people.

Expressing their solidarity towards tsunami victims, Indraprastha Power Generation Co. Ltd. and Pragati Power Co. Ltd. donated Rs.7.80 lakhs and Rs.50,000 respectively towards the fund. Similarly, Sulabh International Social Service Organisation has given Rs.50,000 for relief work.

Meanwhile, the Principal Resident Commissioner of Tamil Nadu in Delhi has asked people and organisations to dispatch relief materials to the Joint Commissioner (Relief), A Chatterjee at Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation at Virugambakkam, Chennai-600092. For assistance, people can contact phone numbers -- (044) 28544249, (044) 26423750, 9840060267, 9382305979 and 9840540926.

The management committee of the Delhi University Vice-Chancellor's Relief Fund has also decided to donate Rs.25 lakhs to the relief fund besides the Vice-Chancellor and his team has resolved to contribute three-days' gross salary while teachers and non-teaching staff of the varsity will donate a day's salary to the fund.

Among political organisations, the Students Federation of India has announced that it would collect relief material at all its centres on January 3 and 4 and has asked its volunteers to generate generously while the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee has also set up relief camp at its office to collect relief material and for providing relief in affected areas. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad has also asked its volunteers to collect money and relief materials. Its volunteers have been collecting funds in the Delhi University campus and other colleges.

The Delhi units of Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party is also collecting funds and relief materials at its headquarters and have asked its elected representatives and workers to collect funds. It has been decided that all Municipal Councillors will donate Rs.5,000 each.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Limited and Li Ka Shing Foundation have announced a donation of HK $ 4.8 million (approximately Rs.2.68 crores) to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund while Star News has pledged Rs.10 lakhs for relief work and has also set up a relief fund for its viewers and patrons for accepting donations. Similarly, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd. has also announced Rs.35 lakhs towards to the relief fund.

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