Meet 26-year-old Viveik Patel who raised Rs 6 cr in 6 days for Pulwama martyrs' kin
Bengaluru, Feb 18: As India reels in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama attack, a 26-year-old Viveik Patel who originally hails from Vadodara, Gujarat currently living in US decided to help the CRPF families and created a fundraiser on Facebook to raise donations.
[Pulwama attack: Maruti team holds key to ownership details of car]
The fundraiser started on February 15 as Viveik was unable to contribute to Bharat Ke Veer through his US-based credit/debit cards.
According to a report on Indiatimes, working as a Senior Business Analyst in Virginia, Viveik Patel leveraged his contacts and even connected with Facebook managers regarding his fundraising initiative.
To start a fundraiser on Facebook, a person needs an NGO name. With the absence of an NGO name, Viveik Patel had to start the fundraiser in his own name.
Within 6 days of creating it, Viveik has managed to bring together over 22,000 people and collected more than $850,000 (~ approximately INR 6 crores) in 6 days.
He has received many calls from residents in other countries offering help and a local radio station spread awareness about his fundraiser.
[Rajasthan youth gets names of Pulwama martyrs tattooed on his body as mark of respect]
He also shares regular updates on Facebook and relevant screenshots of his correspondence with consulate officials in the States.
The Facebook Fundraiser is also supporting this initiative by helping the organizers to ensure that the money goes to the right place.
In light of the Pulwama attack, various government and non-government organisations as well as individuals have come forward to donate money for the martyrs' kin.
On Thursday, at least 40 CRPF paramilitary troopers were killed in a terror attack while several others are battling for their lives following what is being termed as the deadliest terrorist strike in three decades in the valley. An explosive-laden SUV rammed into one of the buses in the CRPF convoy at Awantipora town in the Pulwama district.
Here's how you can also help the families of the CRPF martyrs:
Bharat
Ke
Veer:
Bharat
Ke
Veer
(India's
Bravehearts),
a
brainchild
of
actor
Akshay
Kumar,
the
Ministry
of
Home
Affairs
fundraising
initiative
allows
donations
of
up
to
Rs
15
lakh
to
an
individual's
account
and
donations
to
the
Bharat
Ke
Veer
corpus.
Army
Welfare
Fund:
The
Indian
Army
has
opened
the
Army
Welfare
Fund
Battle
Casualties
account,
which
accepts
donations
for
the
families
of
battle
casualties.
The
donations
received
in
the
fund
is
utilised
to
pay
financial
assistance/grant
to
widows
of
our
Battle
Casualties,
their
next
of
kin
and
dependents.
Paraplegic
Rehabilitation
Centre:
One
can
also
send
donations
to
The
Pune
Paraplegic
Rehabilitation
Centre
which
provides
aftercare
and
rehabilitation
of
Defence
Forces
who
are
medically
boarded
out,
that
is
retired
from
service
due
to
spinal
cord
injuries
while
serving
the
nation.
The centre is accepting donations in the form of cash and cheques in the name of 'Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Kirkee'. Donations can also be transferred to 'Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Kirkee' account with Punjab National Bank (IFSC: PUNB0027800; Account no.: 0278000100174484).
Milaap:
Interested
people
can
also
donate
through
Milaap,
which
has
initiated
a
donation
drive
on
its
crowdfunding
platform
for
the
families
of
the
CRPF
personnel.
The
crowdfunding
is
spearheaded
by
'Hong
Kong
Desi,'
an
organisation
raising
funds
among
NRIs
and
Indians
alike.
PayTm:
E-wallet
Paytm
has
also
come
forward
to
help
collect
donations
for
the
families
of
the
martyred
CRPF
jawans
in
the
Pulwama
attack
by
collaborating
with
CRPF
Wives
Welfare
Association.
It
has
introduced
a
new
option
on
its
app
with
the
name
'CRPF
Bravehearts'
to
help
people
contribute
it.
Google
Pay:
Google
Pay
has
also
collaborated
with
CRPF
Wives
Association
to
set
up
an
option
to
donate
for
the
grieving
families.
The
icon
for
CRPF
Bravehearts
is
seen
on
the
first
row
of
the
Google
Pay
homepage,
with
the
logo
of
a
soldier
standing
in
front
of
the
tricolour.