In a heartwarming gesture, a retired bank employee donated his entire life savings worth Rs 1 crore to the Indian defence forces. Janardan Bhatt, an 84-year-old former SBI clerk donated the amount to the National Defence Fund.
According to a report by ANI News, Janardan, who hails from Bhavnagar in Gujarat was concerned over the recent death of Indian Army jawans by Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. He said that he came up with this initiative because he wanted to do his bit for the country’s defence forces.
This is probably the first instance where a common man has donated such a huge amount to the defence forces. The news comes a day after Home Ministry announced an amount of Rs 2.10 crore has been donated by the people to a fund set up a month ago by the Home Ministry to help families of paramilitary personnel.
Last month, cricketer Gautam Gambhir announced that his foundation will bear the entire education expenses of all the children of CRPF jawans who lost their lives in the Sukma encounter. In March, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and ace shuttler Saina Nehwal donated to Rs 1.08 crore and Rs 6 lakh to the families of CRPF jawans killed in Naxal violence in Chattisgarh.
(A representational image | Source: Reuters)