Humanity Above All: Maharashtra Sex Workers & Kerala Jail Inmates Also Come To Aid Of Kerala Flood Victims

The rains in Kerala might have eased, but what lies ahead is the seemingly insurmountable task of rebuilding the state after a fortnight of damage that left over 300 people dead and more than 14 lakh displaced. Amidst stories of destruction, death and hopelessness, heart touching incidents of rescue missions and assistance have been repeatedly restoring our faith in the existence of humanity and humanism.

Rain-battered Kerala now not only needs major financial assistance but other technical aids as well. People from across the country and even the world have been doing their bit to help Kerala in any way possible. However, individuals, who are otherwise considered to be marginalised by the society have also been contributing to help the flood victims of Kerala.

Maharashtra sex workers donate money for Kerala flood victims

A group of sex workers in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district have donated Rs 21,000 to the Kerala flood victims on August 20 and according to the Times Of India, they are planning to raise another Rs 1 lakh by the end of August for the flood victims of Kerala. Reportedly, they drew the cheque in favour of Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for Kerala flood victims and presented it to the Resident Deputy Collector Prashant Patil.

However, this is certainly not the first time that the sex workers have gone the extra mile to help victims of natural calamities. In 2015, the group had donated Rs 1 lakh for relief-work during the Chennai floods. These are not the only two instances, in fact, Dipak Buram, of city-based NGO Snehalaya, told the daily that the group has donated nearly Rs 27 lakh in total for various causes including the victims of Gujarat earthquake (2001) and Tsunami of 2004 among other natural calamities.

Jail inmates prepared 40000 chapatis

It is not only monetary assistance that Kerala needs, but flood damage has also left thousands of people starving. The inmates of Thiruvananthapuram Central Prison in a gesture to help the flood-hit state has been working hard to provide clean food for the rescued people who have been living in relief camps in Kerala. Over the past few days, the inmates have cooked between 40,000 to 50,000 chapatis for the flood victims.

Reportedly, the jail authorities have mentioned that since the workload has been high, 50 prisoners have been working round the clock in different shifts to meet the demands.

The inmates at the Central Prison has been selling a number of low-cost meals like chapati, vegetable and chicken curries under the brand name ‘freedom’ and has been selling them at various counters across the city for some years now.

The food items, which were neatly packed, had been handed over to district authorities for distribution in the relief camps. “Our food packets were used mainly for airdropping to the people stranded on rooftops and isolated buildings,” a senior prison official told PTI. Apart from chapati and curry, they had also sent jam and packaged water.

The Thiruvananthapuram Central Prison inmates had sent 50,000 ‘jail-made’ chapatis to Tamil Nadu during the Chennai floods in 2015 as well.

The Logical Indian community appreciates them for their big-hearted donations keeping in mind that these people are often looked down and ostracised by the society.

Also Read: The Various Ways You Can Help Kerala Flood Victims