Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: A group of students from colleges in the city are collecting funds to support families of farmers who have committed suicide owing to crop loss or debt.
The students’ group — Navnirman Chhatra Sangthan (NCS) — is to hand over the assistance to families at an event to be held in Yatri Niwas November 30.
“We have identified 111 families from different parts of the state for the assistance. Each family will be given Rs10,000 from the fund collected,” Mohammad Munwar Ali, the head of NCS and masters student at National Institute of Social Work and Social Sciences (NISWSS), said.
Ali said he came up with the idea of raising funds for the affected families after meeting a Gandhian at Ravenshaw University in Cuttack.
“We don’t have to wait for the government to act, we can do our bit,” Ali said. He claims the NCS was purely a students’ organization and was not receiving funds from any political party.
Till date, the students have collected funds from RD Women’s College, Maharishi Women’s College and Harihar College besides daily collections around Master Canteen. NCS has 45 members who go to different colleges in small groups to collect funds.
Rashmi Ranjan Mishra, a plus-two student of Maharishi College, joined the NCS team after he read about the plight of farmers in the state. “We cannot repay all their loans which amount to lakhs of rupees, but we must do whatever we can,” he said.
MBA student of Hitech College and NCS member Anshuman Das said he had joined the cause sickened by the indifference of political parties. “While farmers are committing suicide, our leaders are making insensitive statements and looking to politicise the issue,” Das said.
The NCS volunteers take turns to collect funds such that their studies are not affected. They also keep away from colleges at which exams are being conducted.
For B Swati, an NCS volunteer and student of NISWASS, the fund-raising venture has been interesting. “When we stand at Master Canteen looking for donations, some wave us off saying we had no work. But, that is alright. Many do come forward to donate.”
