Rescued by a Muslim man during Chennai floods, Hindu parents name their newborn 'Yunus'

Pic Courtesy: Kannadaprabha

Chennai: Moved by the gestures of a Muslim man Mohamed Yunus who had come to their rescue during the devastating floods in Chenna, a Hindu couple recently named their girl child after him.

Reports, Tuesday, said that Chitra and Mohan - a Hindu couple - were stranded in Chennai due to heavy downpour in and around the city. Like them, there were more than 400 families who were left stranded as the water entered their home in Urappakkam area.

When Yunus, an engineer by profession, came to know about their plight, he and his friends decided to help them out of this natural calamity.

Ironically, the impact of floods was so much that even boatmen were reluctant to bring in boats for rescue.  

Yunus tried hard to convince the boatmen and it took him nearly four hours to find a vehicle to carry the boats to Urappakkam.

After reaching flooded Urappakkam, Yunus swam through the flood water and rescued Chitra, who was in labour pain, her husband and many others.

Narrating his experience, Yunus told The New Indian Express, “There was no power and people were hanging on trees and building slabs calling out for help. Near a petrol outlet there, we found two families in neck-deep water. Only after we got them into the boat we knew one among them was pregnant and her due date was just two days away. She later gave her name as Chitra.”

It took 15 minutes for the boat to reach the main road, and during this short journey, Yunus realised that Chitra was under a shock.

Soon afterwards, she was taken to a hospital in Perungalathur, where Chitra delivered a baby girl on Saturday. A day later, Chitra and her husband named the child 'Yunus'.

Recalling the effort by Yunus to keep Chitra strong, Mohan said that they will never forget the lesson on wealth Yunus taught them on the boat, and promised to share part of his salary with the poor and the needy each month.

Reacting to the news, an elated Mohamed Yunus said that he will visit the young Yunus soon.