After pop icon Lady Gaga alerted her Twitter fans to the situation in Kashmir’s Leh, several Bollywood celebrities have taken to the social networking site to rustle up relief for victims of floods in the area.
Actors Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Shabana Azmi and Kunal Kapoor are among those who have asked fans to do their bit.
Padukone asked people to help the Save the Children foundation, which has a rescue team on the ground in Leh. “Pls support Save the Children’s relief efforts in Leh. Go to https://bit.ly/c9VPle and do your bit for the affected children and families,” she wrote.
Kapoor said: “I request people to make small contributions to help the affected children of Leh region. Children are the most vulnerable and it is now important that they get clean drinking water. We know how unsafe drinking water can lead to diarrhoea and cause even death among young children. Small steps on your part can go a long way to help save children.”
Actress Priyanka Chopra wrote about the time she spent in Leh as a child, asking people to donate as much as possible for the displaced families. “I think I was in Class 4 when I was in Leh. My brother was just born. My dad was in the army and was posted there. I stayed in Leh for a year and my memories of that place are tremendous,” she posted on her page. “We (film stars) take out time for endorsements, for shows, for 50 other things... why can’t we take out time for this (to help the victims)?” she added. Azmi also asked people to help.
The rivers of mud that cascaded down the hills overlooking Leh on the night of August 5 claimed at least 185 lives in the city and surrounding areas. More than a week later, around 400 people are still missing.
Last week, Lady Gaga retweeted a message with the control room numbers and a special satellite number that could be called in case anyone was stranded at the location. “Please retweet Leh Valley flood Control Room: 9906990613, 9906990833, 9906990807 and 9906983544. Sat Phone: 00870 7636 13623,” she posted on her page. The message has since been circulated by Bipasha Basu, Shah Rukh Khan and Sonam Kapoor.