Tamil TV, radio in Singapore raise funds for Chennai floods

Singapore: A donation drive by a Tamil language TV channel and radio station in Singapore has raised more than 214,000 dollars to help those affected by floods in Chennai earlier this month.

The initiative was organised by Mediacorp-owned Vasantham and Oli 96.8FM, together with Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association (LISHA) and the Singapore Red Cross Society, Channel News Asia reported.

Vasantham and Oli 96.8FM ran call-to-action trailers on air to encourage viewers and listeners to play a part while members of the public donated at a booth in the Little India shopping precinct, Mediacorp said in a release yesterday.

The precinct of Indian-origin businesses, eateries and pubs where South Asians working in Singapore spend their day off was the scene of the December 8, 2013 riots, the city- state's worst outbreak of violence in over 40 years.

The drive was also supported by the Hindu Endowments Board, Narpani Pearavai, Indian Restaurant Association Singapore, National University of Singapore Tamil Language
Society and other Indian organisations, it said.

Unprecedented rains in 100 years pounded Chennai early this month, causing floods that killed nearly 300 people and displaced thousands others.