After the tragic Ahmedabad bomb blasts several Bollywood stars including Salman Khan, Farhan Akhtar, and Rahul Bose have stepped up and offered aid and support to the victims.
Social worker Teesta Setalvad said, “There are several prominent members in Bollywood who have joined me in my effort to collect funds for the treatment of people injured in the bomb blasts. Salman Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar and Rahul Bose are just some of the people who have already pledged their support.” Along with these stars there are other members of the Bollywood fraternity that have offered to help.
Setalvad added, “We have already identified people who are finding it hard to continue their treatment and we will ensure that they get well soon. Trust me, they are in real need of help and we need to act very fast.”
Rahul Bose is taking personal responsibility to raise funds and will go with Setalvad to deliver the much needed aid. He has gone to visit some of the victims of the blast. “We went around visiting hospitals where the blast victims are undergoing treatment and were shocked to see that some of them are actually starving. I told myself, ‘somebody needs to flag it off (the relief operations)’. We went around collecting data about these people. They are actually daily wage earners and mostly live a hand-to-mouth existence. They are ones who we tend forget about too fast,” he said.
Though the victims will receive a compensation of Rs 5 laks from the government, Rahul wants to make sure that everyone can afford the treatment they need. “I know that Gujarat is a very politically-sensitive zone. Our effort is in no way to tell the government that they are not doing enough for the blast victims. At the same time, I feel there are a lot of people in Ahmedabad who still can’t afford the costs of their treatment and it is our duty to get them back on their feet. I decided to lead from the front because I feel nothing is enough.”
