NRG in US raises $1mn for Pulwama martyrs

Vadodara: A 26-year-old Barodian, presently based in Virginia, the United States of America has raised over $1 million (nearly Rs7 crore) for the families of 45 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, who recently attained martyrdom in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.
Viveik Patel, an alumnus of city-based Parul University (PU), had put up an online fundraiser on Facebook dedicated towards bettering the lives of the families belonging to each of the fallen heroes.
Realizing that his efforts to donate on Indian donation site ‘Bharat ke Veer’, had resulted in a series of technical errors, especially for Indian diaspora, Viveik had created a fundraiser account on Facebook with target goal of raising US $5,00,000.
He received an overwhelming response which exceeded the target, amounting to a total of US $ one million within a week of the launch of the fundraiser.
“Learning about the Pulwama attack made me realize their sacrifice to this nation and also of their families. So, I thought of finding a way to do my part as an Indian and contribute to their sacrifice,” Viveik, who has completed his bachelor’s in engineering from PU and currently works as a senior business analyst, said.
“Even though I had so many questions in my mind, including how to transfer funds, contributions started coming in from many in the United States and other countries like Canada,” he said.
The Indian consulate in the USA also supported the initiative by facilitating transfer of funds to India successfully.
“This act of generosity by our alumnus brings us great pride and restores hope in the goodness of humanity,” said PU president Devanshu Patel.