Hyderabad: Last week, the city’s Kashmiri community started collecting for flood relief in Kashmir, which has displaced close to a million people. Vandana Wadhawan, one of the first to start the initiative, admits that though Hyderabad woke up to the disaster a little late, they are planning to make the most of it. “We were unable to connect with our own families in Kashmir for several days. But once we spoke to them on Tuesday, we decided to start with the relief aid,” she says. Vandana and her husband S. Tashif Ayaz have collected over 500 kgs of relief material so far. “We are asking people to give medicines, baby food and ready to eat food, diapers, sanitary napkins, packaged drinking water, also clothes and blankets since winter will set in soon,” adds Tashif.
The couple is being assisted by Colonel Lokesh Saxena, who is helping them dispatch the relief material. Lokesh says, “At first, we thought of air-lifting the goods, but since we have managed to collect close to 2,000 kgs we will be sending them by road, with the help of Army agencies. We plan to tie up with private airlines to help us deliver at least some material faster.” Impressed by the phenomenal response from the city, Vandana says, “I was in an auto, heading for office and speaking of the floods on phone, the auto driver heard me and asked me to deduct '40 from his fare to contribute to the cause. The security guard at my apartment also handed me packets of chips and biscuits.”
Meanwhile, Aamer Rafiq Wani is in touch with the student community. “We have volunteers in HCU and Maulana Azad University who are collecting funds and materials, it’s heartening to see people come forward this way.” “Indigo Airlines has also promised to airlift and dispatch our materials free of cost,” he adds. Aamer has skipped office for an entire week, to speed up the process. He has already dispatched a 20 kg consignment of medicines with a friend. Lokesh says they will be trying to send in relief material every few weeks, after the first batch is shipped. “It depends on how long the relief will be needed and the contributions we get from the city,” he adds.
(For contributions contact Vandana: 09866916734)
