NEW DELHI: Far away from their homeland and family members in the hour of tragedy, hundreds of Nepali students studying in Delhi have turned into foot soldiers to raise funds for sending relief and succour to quake-hit Nepal.

Twenty-year-old Prajwal Basnet, who is pursuing a course in Chartered Accountancy, joins a group of five-six fellow students to raise funds for the cause after attending classes.

“We study at the same place but we are from different parts of Nepal, and we have decided to put in our energies together to send relief material, medicines and other essential supplies there,” Basnet told PTI.

He said the first batch of relief material has already been sent, and once the necessary items have been arranged for, “we will send the second one too.” Basnet, a resident of Itahari is in the final year of his course. These days he can be seen carrying a donation box in public places such as parks, malls and Delhi Metro premises, with ‘Save Nepal’ written in boldface on its front.

His friend Sagar Upreti from Chitwan carries a poster around to attract people’s attention and appeals to them to join in the cause. Upreti, 21, says, “We are here physically but our souls are with our family and other people affected by this tragedy.”

His father survived a house collapse, and is now sleeping in the open.

Mustang native Amina Gurung says, “People have been responding to our plea and coming out to help us. “We raised INRs 66,000 on April 28 in just two hours.”

Another volunteer Deepa Byajankar, 20, from Patan, which has been practically robbed of its architectural grandeur, says,” “My parents are safe but they are living in a tent in a ground near our house.” The temblor has reduced Patan Durbar Square to rubble. “It breaks my heart to know that all that beauty we grew up with as a child is no more to be seen. But, more than rebuilding temples and sites, it is the human lives that need to be rebuilt and rehabilitated. And, we want to be part of it, even if we are far away from our homes,” she added.

   Delhi’s street kids raise funds

NEW DELHI: Many street children living in New Delhi on April 30 took to the streets to collect aid for victims of the Nepal earthquake.

Associated with Badhte Kadam, a federation of street and working children, the youngsters knocked on the doors of many commercial establishments in Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar in south Delhi to collect donations.

“Many children become victims of trafficking whenever such calamities occur. We hope citizens of Delhi will contribute wholeheartedly,” said Sanjay Gupta, director of NGO Chetna. According to Badhte Kadam, the children collected INRs 5,000 on the first day and the drive will continue till the target of INRs10,000 is achieved. The donations will then be sent to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.

The organisation had collected INRs 50,000 and INRs 20,000 for the victims of flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, respectively.