Home CATEGORIES Business Ethics & Philanthropy Odisha train accident: Sonu Sood starts helpline for victims, Virender Sehwag offers...

Odisha train accident: Sonu Sood starts helpline for victims, Virender Sehwag offers free education to orphaned children

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Ahana Bhattacharya
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21-year-old Sourav Roy from West Bengal boarded the ill-fated Coromandel express on Friday to join his first job in Chennai. His dead body returned home two days later. Sourav’s father works at a clothes shop in Kolkata while his mother has fallen sick unable to bear the news of her son’s untimely demise.
On 2nd June, the accident involving the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a goods train loaded with iron ore, took place near the Bahanaga Baazar station in Odisha’s Balasore district.
The deadly train accident which took place in Odisha’s Balasore has claimed 288 lives officially so far. There are many families which have lost their sole breadwinner in the accident, parents have lost their only child and many children have been orphaned and have nowhere to go.

Sonu Sood’s helpline for Odisha victims

Bollywood actor Sonu Sood has reacted to a video of the deceased on Twitter and has decided to stand by his family. Well, not just Sourav’s family, the actor’s philanthropic organisation Sood Charity Foundation has decided to stand by a lot of such families which have been left devastated by what will be remembered as one of the deadliest train accidents in the history of India.
“We’re helping rebuild the lives of the victims of #OdishaTrainTragedy & their families. Drop us an SMS on +91 9967567520 to reach out for help. #SoodCharityFoundation @SoodFoundation,” Sonu Sood tweeted on Wednesday.

 

The actor shared a video on his official social media, where he says in in Hindi, “We have been trying to identify those families which have been deeply impacted by the train accident in Odisha. While some people have been severely injured, some have lost their near ones in the accident. To support these people, we have started a helpline number. If you belong to a family which has been affected by the accident or know any such family, please help us connect with them by sending an SMS on our helpline number. Please send SMS, do not call on this number. We will try our best to restore the lives of these victims by arranging for jobs for them or helping them set up a small business, or trying to support the education of their children. This helpline number is only meant to support the victims of the Odisha train accident. This is a small attempt by Sood Charity Foundation to reach out to those people who need help at this hour. We can surely do this if you help us to connect with these people.”

Virender Sehwag to provide free education

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has also stepped in at this hour of crisis. Sehwag decided to support children who have been orphaned by the accident. The cricketer took to social media to announce that he will be providing free education to these children at Sehwag International School’s boarding facility.
Sharing a still from the ghastly accident, the cricketer tweeted, “This image will haunt us for a long time. In this hour of grief, the least I can do is to take care of education of children of those who lost their life in this tragic accident. I offer such children free education at Sehwag International School’s boarding facility.”

“Also salute all the brave men and women who have been at the forefront of the rescue operations and the medical team and volunteers who have been voluntarily donating blood. We are together in this,” Sehwag mentioned in a separate tweet.
Meanwhile, industrialist Gautam Adani has also offered to sponsor education of children orphaned by the train accident. Earlier this week, he announced on social media that the Adani group will take responsibility of the school education of the innocent people who have lost their parents in this accident.

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