Mumbai auto driver who sold house to fund granddaughter’s education gets Rs 24 lakh in donation

Photo for representational purpose

Fate nodded gaily towards the Mumbai auto driver who sold his house to fund his granddaughter's education as he received Rs 24 lakh in donations through a crowd-funding initiative.

Desraj had gone viral when his story was shared by ‘Humans of Bombay'. The post stated that after his sons died, the auto driver had to take care of his family alone. To fund his granddaughter's education, he even sold his house and slept in an auto.

The auto driver's selfless tale touched many hearts online. Offers of help poured in from all quarters. His story was also posted on Twitter by the Congress's Archana Dalmia with an appeal to Mumbai residents to help the auto driver - the post was retweeted by Milind Deora as well.

A Facebook user named Gunjan Ratti started a fundraiser to help Desraj, which exceeded its goal of Rs 20 lakh.

Humans of Bombay shared a video on Monday showing Desraj receiving a cheque for Rs 24 lakh and thanking his supporters.

"The support Desraj ji has received is immense! Because you all went out of your way to help him, he now has a roof over his head, and will be able to educate his granddaughter!" Humans of Bombay wrote while sharing the video.

"Heartwarming," said popular musician and social media star Yashraj Mukhate in the comments section.

"This makes me so happy. Thank you to everyone who helped him," another said.

"Look at him smile," read another comment.