drought relief – The Metrognome

Asha Bhosale gives Rs 5 lakh for drought relief

The Maharashtra State Government has already received upwards of Rs 116 crore via donations from within the State and without.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The State of Maharashtra has responded well to the Government’s call for help to supplement its efforts in combating the drought situation that the State is currently facing. Hearteningly, a little over Rs 116 crore has been collected already, via donations from students, artists, businesspersons, banks, NGOs and Trusts, and private individuals.

Today, noted playback singer Asha Bhosale visited Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan at his official residence, Varsha, to hand over a cheque of Rs 5,00,000 towards drought relief. Of this, Rs 1,00,000 was the prize money she won at the recently-held Hridayesh Arts event, which commemorated her contribution to the film industry. The rest was contributed by Bhosale.

“It is our fundamental duty to contribute for those who are affected by the ongoing drought crisis in the State. All of us must help the Government in the relief efforts it is carrying out,” she said while handing over the cheque to Chavan.

The biggest donations thus far – both Rs 25 crore each – have come from the Mumbai-based Siddhivinayak Trust and the Shirdi-based Shri Saibaba Sansthan.

(Picture courtesy DGIPR, Mantralaya, Mumbai)

8-year-old donates Rs 5,000 to CM Relief Fund

Kanishk Dongre gave up the money earmarked for his birthday celebrations, plus some personal savings, to CM’s drought relief fund.

by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Who says the youth is totally self-centered? An eight-year-old boy, Kanishk Dongre, today did something so sweet, that even the Chief Minister of the State, Prithviraj Chavan, was all smiles.

Today, Kanishk handed over a cheque of Rs 5,000 to Chavan, towards the CM’s Relief Fund for drought-affected villages in the State.

Kanishk’s father, Raju, works with the State Government’s Director General of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR) department. Kanishk, a resident of Badlapur and a class two student of Carmel School, went with his parents to visit the CM at the Vidhan Bhavan this afternoon to hand over the money; the State Legislature is currently in Session and the CM was present there at the time. It turns out that the Rs 5,000 was actually earmarked for the boy’s birthday celebrations this year. However, the boy decided to donate the money, along with some prior personal savings, towards the drought relief fund.

Who says you need to make a grand gesture to make a difference?