Kannur: A Kerala youth has sold his much-loved scooter so that he can contribute the amount to the chief minister's relief fund.
The scooter had been with him for only a year; it had run just 3,000 km. When he sold the scooter that he bought for Rs 69,000 to his neighbour for Rs 40,000, Aadhi was thinking only about those suffering in rain-related incidents.
Like the previous year, he wanted to do his bit anonymously. But when he heard about a negative campaign over flood relief, he posted the details of his contribution on his Facebook profile page titled Aadhi Balasudha.
When the post reached the Facebook and Instagram pages of Kilimaram collective that makes social interventions, it became viral in a matter of seconds.
To his friends who tell him that he shouldn’t have sold his bike, Aadhi replies, "I have a car... selling the scooter was not a big deal."
Aadhi has been contributing in many ways to flood relief. A graphic designer, Aadhi has offered to draw a picture of people who provide at least Rs 1,000 to the CM's relief fund and forward its screenshot and the contributor’s photo to him.
During the floods last year, Aadhi ran a similar drive and helped facilitate sending of more than Rs 50,000 to the relief fund. However, he is disappointed because he is yet to draw the pictures of all the people who took part in the drive last year.
Aadhi got 10 replies to his offer by Sunday evening. He is sure at least Rs 10,000 would have reached the relief fund.
On Monday, Aadhi's mobile never stopped ringing. However, he didn't get time to see all the messages. That's because he is off to Wayanad in his car carrying relief materials collected by library members in Vadakara.