A street vendor who donated sacks of new clothes for flood-hit people
Kochi: Noushad did not think twice while opening the sealed bundles of new clothes, kept in his godown for Eid sale, and donate it to the distressed people, who are living in relief camps after losing everything in the floods and massive landslides in north Kerala.
He himself stuffed a lion's share of his fresh apparel stocked in huge carry bags and took them on his head to the parked vehicles, to be taken to the relief camps.
Noushad, a street vendor in Kochi, had donated nearly 10 sacks of new clothes kept for festival sale, when a group of volunteers approached him for donation to help people living in relief camps on Sunday, the eve of Eid.
At a time when majority of people prefer to give used clothes and only a portion of their savings to help the needy, Noushad has donated almost all his earnings to bring a smile on the faces of people whom he has neither met nor known, thus showcasing a model of compassion and brotherhood.
The video of the vendor, in his 40s, busy packing the clothes in a narrow godown and transporting them to the vehicles, along with the volunteers, has gone viral on social media.
When Noushad started stuffing new clothes in carry bags, volunteers cautioned him that he was giving away too much and it might effect his festival sales.
"When we depart from this world, we cannot carry anything... my profit is to help the needy... isn't this the way we should celebrate Eid? My Eid is like this...," a smiling Naushad said. He said he was certain the clothes donated would reach to the affected people.
"It is meant for the poor people. I am not bothered about profit or loss", he added.
Film and theatre artist, Rajesh Sharma, who was among the volunteers, posted a video of the noble vendor on Facebook, which had been viewed and shared by a large number of people.
A number of people including state PWD minister G Sudhakaran, Ernakulam district Collector S Suhas and actor Asif Ali have lavished praise on the vendor's selfless act.
State Health Minister K K Shylaja extended her Eid greetings on the social media sharing Noushad's photo and words. The monsoon fury has so far claimed 76 lives and displaced over 2.7 lakh people in the southern state.
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Karnataka bypolls: Over 60 per cent voter turnout in Bagalkot, Davanagere South till 5 pm
Bengaluru (PTI): Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in both Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, where bypolls were held on Thursday.
While the turnout in Bagalkot was 65.68 per cent, it was 63.04 per cent in Davanagere South.
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP aims to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
