Kerala Beedi Worker Left With Just Rs 850 After Donating Entire Savings To Battle Corona Pandemic

He appeared adamant and downplayed the posers by bank officials as to how he would survive considering his financial condition and vehemently said that he had a job along with access to the differently-abled monthly pension of the state government.

Representational Picture (AFP)

Kannur: It’s well articulated “every sunrise is an invitation for us to arise and brighten someone’s day.” In tune with the same compassion and humanity, a differently-abled beedi worker in Kerala’s Kannur district has become a true corona warrior and donated almost the entire savings of his life to the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) to fund vaccines for the people not in a state to afford.

The man, who rolls beedis for his living, visited his bank’s local branch with the intent of donating Rs two lakh out of his savings account to the CMDRF, leaving just Rs 850 in his account.

He appeared adamant and downplayed the posers by bank officials as to how he would survive considering his financial condition and vehemently said that he had a job along with access to the differently-abled monthly pension of the state government.

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The man, who has been rolling beedis since the tender age of 13, said the “people’s lives are bigger” and added “only when there’s life can there be an administration and a system”.

“When I heard in the news on TV that the vaccine would be sold to the state at Rs 400/dose in turn becoming a major burden for the state government, I knew that I couldn’t stand and watch. That night, I couldn’t sleep. The next day, I went to the bank. I felt relieved only after donating the money,” MediaOne quoted the man identified him as Janardhanan, a native of Kuruva in Kannur district, as saying.

“What’s the use of accumulating so much money?” asked the man, who is deaf in both ears.

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Janardhanan, whose wife passed away last year, expressed his desire to live a “solitary life with privacy” and, therefore, he did not want anyone to know about his charitable gesture.

The man earned applauds from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who said “it is this love for one another that sets us apart”.

“Many heart warming stories are coming up about donations to the CMDRF, including that of an elderly man who donated 2L from his savings bank account which had Rs. 200,850 in it. It is this love for one another that sets us apart. Once again, thank each and every one of you!” Vijay posted on Twitter.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Many heart warming stories are coming up about donations to the CMDRF, including that of an elderly man who donated 2L from his savings bank account which had Rs. 200,850 in it. It is this love for one another that sets us apart. Once again, thank each and every one of you!</p>&mdash; Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) <a href="https://twitter.com/vijayanpinarayi/status/1385995331645579265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>April 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Chief Minister’s remark came as several others too have stepped up to the occasion and made charitable donations to the CMDRF to help the government tide over the current crisis.

The state has received a whopping donation above Rs three crore in the last three days.