New Delhi: NGO Sulabh International on Thursday announced to adopt Deoli-Bramhagram village in Uttarakhand which has acquired the dubious tag of "village of widows" after 57 men from the settlement went missing in the recent flash-floods.
The NGO has decided to pay Rs 2,000 per month to each of the widow in six-odd hamlets of this village which is some seven km from Guptkashi.
"Whatever is possible to mitigate the sufferings of these hapless women, Sulabh will try its best. We have always helped people in distress, and in this instance of Himalayan Tsunami, our efforts will match the magnitude of the devastation," said Sulabh founder Dr Bindeshwar Pathak.
"We have recently set up `Sulabh Hope Foundation` to serve the widows in India under which we had adopted all the widows of Vrindavan and Varanasi," said Pathak.
The founder of the NGO said, "We will pay Rs 2,000 per month to each of the widows in this particular village. We will not bring cheer to these widows but at least give them a source to run their families, the initial amount of Rs 2,000 per month will be paid for next five years."
Sulabh has also decided to impart training to these women on the lines of its efforts for widows of Vrindavan and Varanasi, said Pathak.
For about six months of the year, the men folk from Deoli-Bramhagram panchayat area used to go Kedarnath, where they work as mule operators ferrying pilgrims from Gaurikund.
Many of those men have not returned home after floods hot the the temple town.
PTI
