Seydunganallur Baithulmal Jamath mosque located en route from Tirunelveli to Thoothukudi, provides shelter to victims of the devastating floods in Tamil Nadu. Approximately 30 Hindu families are reported to have sought shelter in the masjid, after losing their homes to floods.
Four days and counting, the families welcomed this compassionate gesture by the Masjid committee, saying, “They opened the door to us wholeheartedly. They never said women can’t enter. They told us we could stay here as long as we wanted.”
Moreover, the committee also ensured that the families had their necessities met, providing them with food, clothes, medicines and sanitary napkins.
“From food to medicines, they are providing us everything” added Tamilarasi from Kovilpath.
The story was discovered by The News Minute, upon spotting an unusual gathering of women inside the mosque. Besides, the masjid committee has also temporarily paused all prayers expressing solidarity with the flood victims.
“We have decided not to conduct any prayers until all these people can go back home, so that here they can have all the space they need. We believe in unity and equality. When the floods hit, we had a meeting in the Jamaath committee and decided to open the mosque as a relief camp,” Imran Khan, a Jama’at committee member, told TNM.
Another flood-affected person, Daivakani, is reported to have said, “We came here four days back with just the clothes we wore. They provided us with everything else in this mosque. All those who are sheltering here are Hindus.”
A similar gesture was seen in Tamil Nadu during COVID-19 relief works, wherein religious institutions offered help by opening quarantine centres, distributing provision kits, masks, funding vaccines, etc
Many parts of Thoothukudi district remained inundated after receiving record-breaking rainfall in the past week, normal life has been severely affected. Schools and colleges are to remain shut in the district on Friday.
Massive rescue operations are still being carried out where heavy rainfall wreaked havoc over the past weeks, in districts like Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, and Kanyakumari. The state administration continues its relief campaign on the fifth day, with active involvement of all services — Indian Coast Guard & Navy and Indian Air Force — dropping relief materials and rescuing people.
According to a report by Times of India, about 1,000 stranded people in the floods were rescued on Wednesday from Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts. Throughout December, Tamil Nadu grappled with heavy rainfall, resulting in severe flooding in Chennai and neighbouring areas earlier this month, leaving a trail of destruction due to Cyclone Michaung. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), has said that there will be a reduction in the rainfall, after the heavy rainfall in some places of southern Tamil Nadu till Thursday.
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin has deployed both the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force, for ongoing rescue operations. The state has requested excess money from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to carry out relief work and redevelopment work in southern districts.
