Pune villagers donate Rs 1.8 lakh to CRPF jawans’ families
Sandip Dighe | TNN | Updated: Mar 16, 2019, 06:41 IST
The villagers donate the money to the family members of CRPF personnelPUNE: For the villagers of Nimgaon Nimone in Pune district’s Shirur tehsil, the annual fair was something that they eagerly looked forward to.
But this year, they decided to do away with the celebration and donate Rs1.80 lakh to the families of the CRPF jawans, from Buldhana district, who were killed in the terror attack in Pulwama.
Two CRPF personnel, Sanjay Bhikamsingh Rajaput (45) and Nitin Shivaji Rathod (37), from Malkapur and Veer Pangara village in Buldhana district, were among the 40 personnel killed in the terror attack on February 14.
“Every year, we collect donations from villagers a fortnight before the fair. This year, our collection was around Rs4 lakh. After the terrorist attack, our grampanchayat held a meeting and passed a resolution to donate the money to the families of CRPF personnel. Accordingly, we donated Rs90,000 to each family,” Shreedhar Salunkhe, head of the village’s yaatra committee told TOI on Friday. Usually, the villagers use the donation to organise various entertainment programmes, such as ‘tamasha’ and wrestling competitions.
“This year, we only conducted some traditional rituals,” said Salunkhe, whose grandfather Eknath had served in the army.
A villager, Pandurang Durge, said, “The financial condition of Rathod’s family is not very good. He was the sole breadwinner of the family. Being a responsible citizen, it is our duty to help them.” Rathod’s father, Shivaji (58), said, “Many people from the district visited us after the death of my son. However, nobody donated money to us. More than the money, we felt good for the respect paid by them towards the contributions made by my son.”
But this year, they decided to do away with the celebration and donate Rs1.80 lakh to the families of the CRPF jawans, from Buldhana district, who were killed in the terror attack in Pulwama.
Two CRPF personnel, Sanjay Bhikamsingh Rajaput (45) and Nitin Shivaji Rathod (37), from Malkapur and Veer Pangara village in Buldhana district, were among the 40 personnel killed in the terror attack on February 14.
“Every year, we collect donations from villagers a fortnight before the fair. This year, our collection was around Rs4 lakh. After the terrorist attack, our grampanchayat held a meeting and passed a resolution to donate the money to the families of CRPF personnel. Accordingly, we donated Rs90,000 to each family,” Shreedhar Salunkhe, head of the village’s yaatra committee told TOI on Friday. Usually, the villagers use the donation to organise various entertainment programmes, such as ‘tamasha’ and wrestling competitions.
“This year, we only conducted some traditional rituals,” said Salunkhe, whose grandfather Eknath had served in the army.
A villager, Pandurang Durge, said, “The financial condition of Rathod’s family is not very good. He was the sole breadwinner of the family. Being a responsible citizen, it is our duty to help them.” Rathod’s father, Shivaji (58), said, “Many people from the district visited us after the death of my son. However, nobody donated money to us. More than the money, we felt good for the respect paid by them towards the contributions made by my son.”
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