West Bengal: Charity begins on Orkut

Kolkata, Aug 27: Charity begins on Orkut these days. ''Not a traditional place for charity but an increasingly acceptable platform for all to come together to do something good,'' Lipika Ghosh Dastidar, president of 'Manasi', a Kolkata-based NGO, said here yesterday at a blood donation camp.

Manasi was formed in November last year by like-minded Orkuttians with the sole purpose of raising awareness regarding personal hygiene and healthcare among the poorer sections of society. The organisation took the form of a full-fledged NGO only a month later.

In less than a year, Manasi was able to reach out to the slums of South Kolkata and encourage them to participate in various awareness camps.

''Due to the increasing unavailabilty of blood in the blood banks, we thought we should organise a blood donation camp here,'' Mrs Ghosh Dastidar said while adding that they planned on going into the rural and suburban areas of the state, where people needed their services more.

''The response was splendid with successful donors including television personalities like Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Sugata Roy Chowdhury and Abir Chatterjee,'' NGO's vice-president Aniruddh Ghosh said.

UNI