Chouhan urges MP citizens to support Nepal quake victims

A four-year-old and a 100-year old among contributors; Rs 5 crore mopped up already

As a humanitarian gesture, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made an appeal to his fellow citizens to contribute and help Nepal overcome the aftermath of the earthquake. He launched a campaign in Bhopal on Tuesday in this regard.

After a condolence meeting this morning, a collection drive garnered Rs 5 crore from the citizens, with the biggest sum coming from Bohra community. A four-year old’s piggy bank chipped in with Rs 507, while a 100-year-old reportedly contributed Rs 250, the smallest sum. A private person from Indore contributed a vanity sum of Rs 5,55,555 through cheque to mark his marriage anniversary. 

The state chief minister had already contributed an amount of Rs 5 crore to earthquake victims in Nepal. “Our government is with the kin of those who have lost their lives in the earthquake -- in Nepal and in India. I have contributed an amount of Rs 5 crore to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for the purpose. It may be used for helping victims in India and Nepal,” he had said earlier last month.

This kind of state largesse has not come for foreigners for the first time. Earlier this year in February, Chouhan had announced in civic polls that no Pakistani Hindu would be asked to leave the state. He had announced this in Indore, where a large number of Pakistani Hindu migrants reportedly live.

The fund collection for Nepal earthquake victims would continue till May 15. The money collected from public would be parked in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, from where it would be routed to Nepal through the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.