Hima Das donates half of salary for Assam flood relief, appeals for help

Hima Das has donated half of her monthly salary to aid relief efforts in Assam, her home state, which is in the throes of one of the worst spells of floods of recent times. The star sprinter, who is presently in Europe, participating in training camps and competitive meets, deposited the amount to the Assam Chief Minister’s Relief Fund on Tuesday.

I have contributed my bit and requesting others also to please help people of Assam. #AssamFloods https://t.co/y7ml1EMGzG

— Hima MON JAI (@HimaDas8) July 16, 2019

The donation was part of the salary Hima receives from Indian Oil Corporation, where she is an HR officer.

Hima also made an appeal to corporates and wealthy individuals to come forward with assistance.

Flood situation in our state Assam is very critical, 30 out of 33 districts are currently affected. So i would like to request big corporates and individuals to kindly come forward and help our state in this difficult situation. pic.twitter.com/cbVZv7b4IP

— Hima MON JAI (@HimaDas8) July 16, 2019

“Flood situation in our state Assam is very critical, 30 out of 33 districts are currently affected. So i would like to request big corporates and individuals to kindly come forward and help our state in this difficult situation,” she tweeted.

At least fifteen people have been reported to have died in the current spate of floods in Assam and lakhs of people have been displaced. Furthermore, 90% of Kaziranga National Park is reported to have been inundated.

Hima Das has become an icon in her home state ever since she became the first Indian sprinter to win a gold at a global athletics meet in July last year. She had grabbed this honour by winning the women’s 400m final race in the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships.

Hima is also the sports secretary of the local unit of Aasu, a regional party in Assam. She is also known to have led a campaign against social ills like illicit liquor dens in her local area.