A man from the village of Anchal in Kerala’s Kollam district has donated one lakh rupees of his lottery winnings towards the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF). 

The man, Hamsa, is a lottery agent and lottery ticket seller. He had won the third prize in the Nirmal lottery that took place on August 10. 

Hamsa, along with his wife Sonia and two children, Hadiya and Hanna Fathima, personally handed over the cheque of one lakh rupees to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday. 

The chief minister had taken to Facebook on Sunday to urge people, including the Malayali diaspora across the globe, to come forward and donate one month’s salary towards the ongoing relief efforts in the state, following the floods which caused massive destruction. 

Following the CM’s post, Kerala Governor P Sathasivam too had tweeted encouraging those holding ‘high offices’ to donate their salaries towards the CMDRF.

Others who have donated their salaries towards relief efforts include state General Education Secretary A Shahjahan, Minister Mercy Kuttiamma, DGP Loknath Behera among others. 

Further, all the employees in the office of the state’s Health Minister KK Shailaja, too donated their salaries. 

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan noted that if people were not able to donate one month’s salary at once, they could do so over a period of 10 months, in instalments. 

Many others have also come forward with monetary help. Two Malayalis based in the US raised over one million dollars in funds to donate to the CM’s relief fund. 

The floods in the state have caused severe destruction and the focus has now shifted from relief and rescue to rehabilitation. Nearly 400 people lost their lives and over 1,000 relief camps have been set up to provide shelter.