Pune's youths open their purses for Kerala

One of the 700 solar LED super capacitor based lamps sent by the Science and Technology Park to Kerala

Students and youths from Pune are coming together to help the flood-affected in Kerala. Paigambar Shaikh, 28, who works in the mobile phone industry, had appealed on social media - Qurbani for Kerala - asking people to utilise the money meant for qurbani on Bakr Eid, instead, to help the state. After Shaikh's appeal, on Sunday more than 20 youths gave him the money kept for qurbani. Shaikh said, "We have collected around Rs 80,000 and more money is coming in. We have already prepared a DD in the name of the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund. This is our small effort for Kerala relief."

Students from the history department of Savitribai Phule Pune university have also collected funds for Kerala. 2018 is the golden jubilee year of the history department. It was first decided to collect Rs 50,000 for the celebrations. After the devastating floods in Kerala, it decided to collect more money and donate it to help the state.

The Science and Technology Park is associated with a network of Science parks and business incubators within Kerala. The Park has developed fast charging, long lasting solar LED super capacitor based lamps. An official of the Park said about 700 of these lamps with solar panels were airlifted on Sunday to Coimbatore. The lamps were further transported to Palakkad, which is the hub of flood relief operations, and from there they were transported for distribution to Chengannur and Koottanad in Alleppey district which is the worst affected.

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