“I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE”

On the occasion of his daughter Shreya’s wedding in December last year, he built 90 homes at an approximate Rs 80 lakh for the homeless in Aurangabad’s Lasur town and donated them.

In September last year, while planning my daughter’s wedding, I suddenly felt I should do something for the less privileged. We had made all the bookings for the wedding, but somewhere I felt I wanted the less fortunate to be a part of this special celebration. My brother Prashant Bamb, the local MLA, suggested that I donate homes to the shelterless since that’s a cause few people take up. I wondered how would be able to accomplish this within two-and-a-half months as the wedding was planned for December 12. Bamb assured all help. So we procured land and laid the foundation stone on October 2. The next day, we started work and finished 90 homes within the stipulated period. I had seen so many people—daily wagers, labourers, domestic workers—who had spent a lifetime toiling but failed to secure a roof over their heads. I surveyed and selected 90 such families. I had only two conditions—since I am a Jain, I only wanted beneficiaries who do not eat meat; secondly, they should not drink alcohol. The homes we built are 12 feet by 20 feet and have a room and a kitchen. After the wedding, I got my daughter Shreya to hand over the house keys to these people and take their blessings.”

“It’s sad that despite India on its way to becoming the world’s diabetes capital, we ignore talking about health in classrooms.”