Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal donated Rs. 6 lakh—Rs. 50,000 each—for the families of 12 Central Reserve Police Force jawans killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh last week.
The 219 Battalion’s CRPF soldiers were ambushed with locally-made mortars and tiffin bombs by Naxalites in Bhejji when the troops were guarding a road being built between the village and Injeram on National Highway-30.
Saina, who turned 27 on Friday, said, “I was celebrating my birthday and heard about senior actor Akshay Kumar's gesture and this inspired me to act because I thought it was proper to help these martyrs.” The Bollywood actor had donated Rs 1.08 crore for the families of the soldiers.
This was not her first gesture of generosity. She had donated to the PM's relief fund for Assam floods, Nepal earthquake, CM's relief fund during the Chennai floods and AP CM's relief fund for the Kurnool floods. She had also donated money to Paralympic Games silver medalist Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda and helped a few girls from poor families with their education.
“The decision to donate money was entirely mine. Of course, I shared the information with my parents and those who were with me when I made the donation with the help of the DG, CRPF. And as I mentioned earlier, Akshay Kumar was also an inspiration,” she said, adding she would like to spend more for charity works.
She said although she does not consult anyone before deciding to donate money for charity works, her chartered accountant often tells her to consult him before making such donations. People do not approach me for donations, she said, adding she prefers to do things silently.
