Lulu's Yusuff Ali to help woman evicted by GCDA; to settle her rent dues
Thiruvananthapuram: Billionaire Non-Resident Keralite businessman M.A. Yusuffali has announced that he would settle the dues of a woman who was evicted by the Greater Cochin Development Corporation (GCDA) from her shop at Kochi for non-payment of rent.
Prasanna, 54, had to pay Rs 13,800 per month as rent but due to Covid and the footpath maintenance work, she was not able to open the shop and hence, not able to pay the rent.
The woman, who was supporting her mentally-challenged daughter using the returns from the street shop of the GCDA, had amassed rental dues following the closure of shops due to Covid-19.
Prasanna was served a notice of Rs 9 lakh as rent dues but didn't have any means to pay this amount. GCDA officials had shut down the shop on Wednesday and Prasanna had conducted a sit-in dharna before the shop for the past four days.
On hearing her misery, Yusuf Ali immediately deputed his Kochi office staff to meet the woman and promised her help.
An additional amount of Rs 2 lakh would be handed over to Prasanna to help her run the street shop where she was selling refreshments and juices.
"When notice was served on me, I did not have any means other than thinking about suicide. I don't have Rs 9,000 with me, how can I pay Rs 9 lakh. I and my family thank Yusuf Ali saheb wholeheartedly for this benevolence showered on us. He was literally God sent to us," Prasanna told IANS.
Yusuf Ali said: "I came to know about the woman's problems through media and I directed our office at Kochi to pay the arrears today itself. But being a Sunday, the GCDA office was closed, and on Monday morning itself, the amount will be paid and rent arrears settled. We will also be handing over Rs 2 lakh to her to restart her shop and buy necessary items for doing business."
The Lulu group was recently in the news for paying blood money of Rs 1 crore to save a Thrissur native in Abu Dhabi where he was sentenced to death after a Sudanese child was accidentally killed after the vehicle he was driving hit him. Becks Krishnan was on the death row after the accidental killing of the Sudanese boy in 2012.
Courtesy: IANS
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
