Kerala flood victims get Eid gift from Punjabi expat from UAE
Trust run by expat UAE businessman provides food and other relief materials
Dubai: Around 130 flood-hit families in the southern Indian state of Kerala received food supplies from a trust run by a non-Keralite expatriate living in the UAE on Monday.
PCT Humanity (Pehal Charitable Trust), run by Punjabi expat Joginder Singh Salaria, arranged a bus full of relief materials including essential food supplies, baby nappies, power banks and emergency lamps for relief works in areas in Kasaragod district, said Mohammad Ali, a resident assisting PCT Humanity to distribute the goods.
“They started supporting us from Saturday,” Ali told Gulf News on the phone. “Today, after Eid prayers in the morning, we distributed food kits to around 130 families. It was an Eid gift for them.”
Ali said around 1,000 people were in relief camps in Padanna and nearby areas where several houses were flooded with chest-deep water.
“Our place was not affected and we were the ones to send relief materials to other areas last year. This time, we have been hit and it is a great relief that people like him [Salaria] are extending a helping hand. The emergency lamps and power banks have been of great use as we didn’t have power supply for a couple of days.”
Known for building bore-wells for draught-hit villagers in Pakistan among other charity works, Salaria said he would like his gesture to inspire others.
“This is not to show off. This is just a small message for the people who are sleeping thinking that it [the calamity] has not affected them and it doesn’t matter to them. Everyone should do their bit," said Salaria, who had also sent relief to Kerala during last year's floods.