KL Report
SRINAGAR
Taking lead, the South Asian Students Monday started a donation campaign for severely earthquake hit Himalayan country Nepal from campus of Kashmir University.
Pertinent to mention here, the land-locked Himalayan nation Nepal was severely hit by an earthquake measuring 7.9 on Richter scale, which resulted in death of over 3819 people (This is the latest official figure from Nepal government) and injures to thousands. The loss of property runs in crores.
Braving incessant rains, the SAARC students along with local Kashmiri students started the donation campaign from UNESCO MS Institute of Kashmir Studies.
“It is our humanistic duty to just do a bit on our part,” said Khan Osman Touseef. Native of another SAARC member, Bangladesh, Touseef is a PhD scholar at IKS. “Today it is Nepal, tomorrow it can be any other nation amongst South Asia.”
Significant to mention here, at Kashmir University’s UNESCO MS Institute of Kashmir Studies, students from eight nations comprising South Asia forming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) viz Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Srilanka, Maldives and India study at MA and research levels.
Under “South Asia & Kashmir for Nepal” banner, SAARC students said that although Kashmir had to face century’s worst flood last year in September, the Kashmiri students, faculty and other staff members were very supportive about the campaign at the varsity.
“We are witness to the fury of 2014 Kashmir deluge but what I can say is we were not let down by anyone whom we requested for donations here at the University,” maintained Bishnu Pokhrael. Bishnu is one of the two students from earthquake hit Nepal at IKS studying “Kashmir and South Asia Studies” at MA Level.
About the modus operandi of their campaign, the SAARC students said that they are in the process of opening a joint bank account for the donations.
“This was our first day and we have just started collecting the donations and we have received a huge response from Kashmir University fraternity,” said Zakaria Polash. Polash comes from Bangladesh. “Any well-wisher who wants to contribute can contact us here at KU while the joint bank account for donations shall be ready by Tuesday evening,” he informed. “The campaign shall continue from early Tuesday morning.”
