160 govt employees, including peon, donate month's salary to Haryana COVID-19 fund

Chandigarh, Apr 10 () A peon from Ambala, teacher from Gurgaon, police constable and a nurse are among the 160 government employees who have donated their month's salary to the Haryana COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Naresh from Ambala, a c employee, said his family encouraged him to make the decision.

Hailing from a village in Naraingarh in Ambala district, Naresh said he thought of making a small contribution as the entire nation is fighting a war against coronavirus.

A government staff nurse who also contributed her entire month's salary to the fund said, "We earn throughout the year, but this is a small contribution one can make when the nation needs our help. There are so many poor people out there who need our help in this difficult time."

"I did not consult anyone and I took the decision on my own. I was scared that my husband might get upset," Shashi Bala told Chief Minister M L Khattar during the course of his televised address to the people of the state.

He saluted their spirit as despite not being in the high earning bracket, they chose to donate their entire month's salary.

The nurse told the chief minister that she was fortunate to serve patients during this time of crisis. "I look after them like a mother takes care of her children," she said.

Haryana Police constable Ravi who has also contributed a month's salary towards the COVID Relief Fund said this is a small contribution for his country.

Government teacher Sarla Devi said, "I thought this is the least I could do for my country at this juncture. I too did not consult anyone at home and donated my salary."

Khattar said in addition to these employees, people from various sections of society are making contributions to the fund, which has so far received over Rs 70 crore.

"With everyone's support, we will win this fight against the deadly disease," he said.

The chief minister also lauded the Karnal district administration's 'Adopt A Family' scheme to help the needy during the lockdown.

He said the scheme has drawn praise from the Centre and other states too.

The initiative was launched recently for the benefit of the poor. Four hundred Karnal residents have been providing essentials to 15,000 needy people with assistance from the local administration, Khattar said. SUN VSD SNE