Hyderabad: Young Muslim professionals have come forward to support 3,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar during the holy month of Ramzan by arranging for their evening Iftar and providing them with clothing, medicines and ration for six months. The ration is being collected from various Muslim communities via Zakat. Those who give Zakat during Ramzan are being encouraged to give it to these people who had to flee their country and seek shelter in the city.
These refugees have taken shelter in the Kishanbagh, Ballapur and Babanagar areas of Hyderabad. They came to Kolkata from Myanmar via Bangladesh before reaching Hyderabad.
Mujtaba Askari, a young professional who came to know about the refugees, said, “In just Ballapur area, there are three camps and each camp has 50 to 75 families living in tarpaulin tents. There are families who have escaped with children who are sick . Many of them are opting for daily wage work to make ends meet.”
These 15 young professionals have come together because during Ramzan a lot of charity is done and they want to direct some to the Rohingya refugees. Abdul Hasan, another young professional working with a software company, said, “We have done an initial survey and are looking to provide Iftar for at least 1,000 people. In terms of Zakat, our targets are set at 500 families. We plan to give each family 25-kg of rice, 10-kg of wheat, pulses, sugar, dates, cooking oil and onions.”
As of now, 25 of the refugees have been identified who are suffering from tuberculosis and the group is trying to get medical help. Mir Yusuf, another volunteer, said, “There are widows and their children who need to be rehabilitated, but all depends on the amount of money we can collect. Currently, we are working towards meeting their basic needs.”
Fasting staff can leave an hour earlier
With the holy month of Ramzan starting on June 19, the TS government has given permission to all Muslim employees to leave office one hour early from June 18 to July 17. The one-hour leave is being granted to government employees, teachers and also out-sourcing employees so that they can reach home on time for Iftar. However, this does not apply to those who are in emergency services.
