Bahubali actor Rana Daggubati, moved by the devastation caused by Chennai floods, has initiated a campaign called (For Our Madras) along with other young actors in Tollywood. Rana tells us many B-Town celebrities have reached out to him over the last couple of days. “Varun (Dhawan) and a lot of my friends from Mumbai have calling to ask how they can help. It’s impossible for people from Mumbai to send food, etc and sending money to the ATMs in Chennai is impractical, as they aren’t working. Varun sent me a message asking Rana what can I do to help? So I called Varun and told him that I have made a separate account which anybody from Mumbai can send money to. My grandfather’s Ramanaidu Charitable Trust (Ramanaidu Charitable Trust, Acct: 18090200000113, Bank Of Baroda, Jubilee Hills Branch, IFSC Code. BARBOJUBILE) in Hyderabad, is also there. First, we have to provide the immediate needs of the people which includes food, clothing, water, sanitation and medicine. Once the water level has receded, there will be a host of other problems which will include electricity, plumbing and re-building the city. For that, the money will come handy.”
Rana adds that he has relatives and friends still stuck in Chennai. “There are very very few access routes in Chennai and the airport and trains are shut till today. People in Chennai have had no power for over four days. It’s only since Friday that they have been getting electricity for a couple of hours. But what we need right now is drinking water. 1000 litres of water is more valuable than 1000 crore. What people really need is food and drinking water so through my team at our Premnagar studio in Hyderabad, we are sending as much as we can load and through various courier companies who have stepped in to help. Several companies are also giving me water. We are sending non-perishable goods like biscuits which last for a day or two, basic first-aid and medical care. Karthik is making kits to send rice, daal and tamarind to cook hot food at the food centers.”
