Alivelu, a sanitation worker with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), says that she was overjoyed when she received a call from Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao’s office earlier this week asking if she and her husband could meet him.
“I was very happy. I didn’t think that we would get a response,” she says.
Alivelu has been in the spotlight after she met with KTR on Tuesday after deciding to donate Rs 10,000, almost her entire monthly salary, to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) towards the fight against COVID-19.
Speaking to TNM, Alivelu, who has been working with the GHMC for close to 6 years, says, “I wanted to give back to society, especially during this crisis. I spoke to my husband, son and daughter, and they all said that I should go ahead and do it.”
Alivelu works in the Malakpet Circle of the GHMC under the Charminar Zone, which is one of the hardest hit by COVID-19 and has reported a large chunk of the total cases reported in Hyderabad.
“Doctors and health workers are doing their duty in the hospitals while the GHMC and police are doing their duty on the streets. Together with the cooperation of the public, we hope that we can overcome this soon,” she says.
KTR appreciated Alivelu and applauded her for the gesture. The move has also received praise from many others on social media.
Received a tweet couple of days ago from a GHMC worker called Alivelu saying she wants to contribute one month’s salary to CMRF
— KTR (@KTRTRS) April 28, 2020
Intrigued, asked @KTRoffice to arrange a meeting. She came in today with the cheque & insisted that I accept it. Didn’t want anything from my side pic.twitter.com/J57hocpoiL
“He asked me if I wanted anything from his side but I said that I did not contribute expecting anything in return. I just wanted to do my bit. He said that I can approach him or his office if I needed any help in the future,” she adds.
After receiving the cheque, KTR said that Alivelu is not only fighting coronavirus as a frontline worker but has also given a major share of her salary as a contribution to the CMRF, which has brought more glory to her and other frontline workers.
“I’m very proud of her. When she first told me she wanted to donate her salary, I said that we should definitely go ahead. It is a humanitarian crisis. I tweeted to KTR after that but we never thought we would actually get a response,” Srisailam Yadav, Alivelu’s husband, who works as a daily wage worker at a vegetable market, told TNM.
Read: