Maharashtra Navnirman Sena asks Bollywood stars to help flood-affected people

Mumbai: The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has slammed Bollywood celebrities alleging they have turned a blind eye towards the unprecedented floods in Maharashtra. The party has appealed them to provide assistance to flood-affected people in the state.

Amey Khopkar, vice president, MNS, has expressed his anguish on twitter in this regard. He tweeted, “Several people in Bollywood come forward to help other states during natural calamities. But, I am surprised by the fact that no one has bothered to make even a single tweet after the floods in my state. Many NGOs have started the relief work. I appeal to top Bollywood stars, to whom Maharashtra has provided fame and status, to become a little sensitive and provide aid to the relief works.”

In 2019 too, the MNS had blasted the Bollywood starts for ‘turning their back’ to the plight of flood victims in the state. “Lanat hai unpar, jinke paas danat nahi hai…” (Shame on those, who do not have the charity to help), he had said.

“They say there should not be any politics in the moment of crisis. But where are the Bollywood stars, who say that Maharashtra is their Karmabhoomi (the workplace), in this difficult period?” he had tweeted.

“Why haven't these stars, who make money at the cost of people here, have come forward to help them during this crisis? They often post videos and bytes to promote even the mediocre films of each other, but have failed to post even a single video to appeal for help of flood-affected people,” he had said.

It is very annoying to see that how the stars, who portray themselves as Massiah on the screen, can forget their Karmabhoomi, Mr Khopkar added.

Heavy rains have created havoc in Maharashtra rendering homeless nearly 2.30 lakh people, who have been relocated to safer places. The death toll from the destruction in the state has risen to 149 in Satara, Mumbai, Raigad, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, Pune, Thane and Ratnagiri, with maximum deaths of 60 in Raigad.

Incessant rains and a dozen landslides have affected 875 villages in these districts and 64 people are still missing. The number of deaths may rise as the rescue and relief operations are still underway.

A total of 50 persons were injured in rain related incidents across the state, according to a report issued by the state government.

The state government has sanctioned Rs 2 crore each from the State Disaster Response Fund for Raigad and Ratnagiri and Rs 50 lakh for all the other affected districts together.

The department said torrential rainfall in various parts of the state, often coinciding with high tides and also discharge from dams, led to various regions getting inundated.