Hindustan Times (Bathinda)

Religious hues come together for relief work

- Zia Haq Zia.haq@hindustant­imes.com

Emergency relief operations have brought people of different religions together with Islamic and Christian charities joining hands to nurse thousands of Hindu pilgrims and locals

NEW DELHI: In the disasterst­ruck hills of Uttarakhan­d, emergency relief operations have brought religions together, as Islamic and Christian charities join hands to nurse thousands of Hindu pilgrims and locals impacted by deadly flooding.

Teams from Caritas India, a Christian voluntary organisati­on, are scouring the hills for survivors. In Shakti Vihar area of Srinagar town in the state’s Pauri district, nearly 150 volunteers from Convent schools and Church centers, including priests and nuns, have descended on the hills, helping clear the debris left behind by the waters.

Political outfits, such as the All India Majlis- eIttehaadu­l Muslimeen, led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, has announced relief worth R78.75 lakh.

A Youtube video, made available by the organisati­on, showed young Church volunteers removing knee-deep slush from wrecked homes.

Members of the Jamaate-Islami Hind, an Islamic organisati­on, are holding relief camps at Hardwar rail- way station for victims, led by a Muslim cleric. The relief camp of the Jamaat, inaugurate­d by railway superinten­dent GK Das, is housing several survivors, according to a Jamaat leader.

The All-India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat has donated R1 lakh to the PM’s relief fund as a token amount towards the relief efforts being undertaken by the central and state government­s.

“We have appealed to the other Muslim organisati­ons, NGOs and individual­s to offer relief help in this hour of need of our brethren and sisters affected by the natural calamity,” Zafarul-Islam Khan, the Mushawarat’s chief said, in a statement.

 ?? AFP ?? Clerics offer prayers for Uttarakhan­d victims in Ahmedabad.
AFP Clerics offer prayers for Uttarakhan­d victims in Ahmedabad.

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