Karnataka - Mysore   

Wholehearted response for tsunami relief fund

By Our Staff Correspondent

The Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, collecting donation for the tsunami victims during his padayatra in Mysore on Monday.

MYSORE, JAN. 3. The Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, on Monday took out a padayatra in different parts of Mysore city, collecting contributions in aid of tsunami victims.

People from all classes of society responded enthusiastically to the Deputy Chief Minister's effort to raise funds for the victims of tsunami tidal waves, which lashed the southern coast of the Indian Peninsula a week ago, killing thousands and rendering millions homeless.

Accompanied by the Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, H.C. Mahadevappa, the Minister for Tourism, D.T. Jayakumar, the Mayor, Dakshinamurthy, the Mysore Zilla Panchayat President, K.C. Balaram, the MLA, M.K. Somashekar, and government officials, Mr. Siddaramaiah began his padayatra from Ashoka Road.

As Mr. Siddaramaiah went from shop to shop holding a collection box, the shopkeepers came out and dropped currency notes and cheques.

Many passers-by jostled with each other to reach the Deputy Chief Minister and hand over their contributions. Several roadside vendors, hawkers and even cobblers lined up for their turn to drop donations into the collection box. In a moving gesture, a bullock-cart man passing through Irwin Road called out to the Deputy Chief Minister to accept his contribution to the relief fund. Mr. Siddaramaiah went to the cart man and stretched the box as the donor pulled out currency notes from his pocket and thrust it into the box. Later, Mr. Siddaramaiah went around K.T. Street, Makkaji Chowk, K.R. Circle and Devaraj Urs Road. At most places, apart from currency notes and cheques, contributions flowed in the form of clothes and other material.

However, the police had a tough time controlling the crowd as a large number of Mr. Siddaramaiah's supporters insisted on remaining close to their leader often making it difficult for donors to reach him.

The Deputy Commissioner, G. Kumar Naik, the City Police Commissioner, Pravin Sood, and the Commissioner of Mysore City Corporation, A.B. Ibrahim, also accompanied the Deputy Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, the BJP MLA, H.S. Shankarlinge Gowda, went around KR Circle in a bicycle seeking donations in aid of tsunami victims.

A group of Kannada Chaluvaligars too was seen appealing to passers-by to make contributions to the relief fund.

Traffic on the main thoroughfares of the city was disrupted around noon because of Mr. Siddaramaiah's padayatra, Mr. Shakarlinge Gowda's cycle jatha and the Kannada protagonists' efforts to raise funds.

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