Pidichittu: As Kerala battles its worst flood in nearly a century, Puducherry stood for flood victims and poured out help.
From offering Rs 1 crore aid from the territorial administration to children breaking their piggy banks 'Puducherrians' showed their generosity and compassion to help the neighbor state.
Different NGOs and residents in the city, college students and others have come together to organise aid and assistance for the victims of the devastating floods in Kerala by collecting basic needs for the people stranded in the floods in Kerala.
How the administration supported Kerala: Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy announced the government's decision to contribute Rs 1 crore aid for flood relief to Kerala. The Chief Minister also urged all MLAs and two MPs in the Union Territory to contribute their one-month salary towards Kerala flood relief work.
Chairing a meeting with senior government officials at the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Narayanasamy also announced the decision that government employees in the Union Territory had come forward to contribute one day's salary totalling Rs 5 crore for the flood relief in Kerala.
Narayanasamy also urged all educational institutions, corporates and other commercial and merchant associations and non-governmental organisations to contribute generously to the relief works in Kerala. A collection point on the premises of the Collectorate here also opened to receive contributions and other relief material including clothes, water bottles, medicines and packaged food packets from the public which would be transported to Kerala later.
Students and organisations chip in: Apart from the support of government, the public, especially the student community in Puducherry came in large number to support Kerala.
To lend a helping hand to the people stuck in Kerala flood, the students of Pondicherry University have been raising funds and flood relief material for the past one week.
Students collected around Rs 8 lakh from people apart from materials worth Rs 3 lakh which include materials such as medicines, first aid kits, food packets, she kit items, stationary and other household things.
"Even we were surprised by the response from the people. They were very generous especially the common people, vendors in street, small shop owners," said Unnikrishnan, who is doing his PhD in the university.
Students have spent the amount to buy essential materials and transported it to Kerala.
"We have spent around Rs 5 lakh to buy relief materials and the rest of the amount will be transferred to Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF)," he said.
The students are planning to raise funds to support the flood affected people in Karnataka by organising a musical event.
Maheswari Marimuthu, who has participated in numerous long rides, set off from Puducherry along with his friend Manikandan Selvan and rode over Tamil Nadu where she collected medicines worth Rs 25,000 to support flood affected people of Kerala. The medicines were handed over to students of Pondicherry University.
Renowned terracotta artist V.K. Munusamy contributed around Rs 35,000 to CMDRF by initiating a campaign at beach road here. He urged people to contribute to Kerala flood relief in return he will make Ganesha in clay for free.
Gitidharan along with his friend opened a collection point and urged people to contribute relief material to the flood affected state
"We have got materials worth Rs 1,75,000 which include dresses, medicines and food items. This would be transported to the relief camps in Kerala," he said.
The traders association in Puducherry has donated Rs 1 lakh towards the relief fund for Kerala.
Apart from this organisations including Malayali samajam and various other organisation also supporting the state by raising funds
Kids with big hearts: While financial and material aid is coming in from all over the Union Territory it was the children, some of their names are even not known ,amused the volunteers the most.
Most of the volunteers who had collected relief materials for Kerala have the story of at least one child who had contributed all of their possession to support a state which they know only through medias.
The students of Pondicherry University shared the story of Kavi Priya a girl of 10 year old who contributed her piggy bank collection to Kerala relief fund
" While we were collecting the amount from the people she came along with her father with a small plastic bag with full of coins . She said that she had just broke the piggy bank and want to help the children like her in Kerala. Her act of compassion was beyond words", says Niyas Zukta, a PhD student of the university, who shared the video of Kavi Priya through his social media account.
A Jaya Surya, a 9th standard student of a government aided high school at Madagadippattu, handed over Rs 10,000 towards the flood relief works in Kerala to Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy. According to the reports from Chief Minister's office
he had collected the money to buy a hearing aid for him.
The volunteers of the Communist party of India ,who were on a door to door collection of relief materials, shared the story of brother sister duo Jaganath Nadesan (13) and Mridulayini(9), of J J Nagar who donated Rs 1,750 collected in their piggy bank towards Kerala relief.
On the other hand four-year-old Atharv, son of Rekha Kishore, professor of Pondicherry university, came up with a different idea.
Atharv was ready to hand over the collection of his toys to people who came to collect relief material . The idea was supported by his mother without a second thought.
"It was something new for us. Then we started thinking about it. We have got so many messages of kids who lost their toys in the flood. For them toys are important than anything else and now we have started collection of toys also", says Shamili Narayanan, PhD student of Pondicherry university
Jipmer sends team: Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) has sent a 34-member medical team led by Blessy John, Senior Resident Obstetrics and Gynecology to Kerala for healthcare relief work.
The team has residents, nursing officers, interns, medical and paramedical students across multiple specialties. The team will coordinate with the local health authorities in the severely affected district of Wayanad, says the official release from Jipmer. Apart from this the institution initiated a Stress Helpline for people who were directly or indirectly affected by the natural calamity in Kerala . It will offer counselling and support in Malayalam for mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and suicidal ideas. The Helpline number is given as 78670 86311.
Employees of Jipmer will contribute their one-day salary to the Kerala Chief Ministers Flood Relief Fund. The faculty, students and employees have also arranged flood relief kits to be distributed among affected people.
