Flood relief pours in as TSC witnesses show of solidarity

Relief supplies donated by the public are being packed on the TSC premises at Dhaka University on Saturday to aid flood-hit people in the eastern and southeastern regions of the country. (Story on page 1) — FE Photo

In an unprecedented show of solidarity, students of Dhaka University collected mass relief at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) for the third consecutive day on Saturday to support flood victims.
People came pouring in to deliver relief at the nerve centre of the campus.
Countless people brought relief by various means of transport like cars, trucks, CNG autos and rickshaws. The relief included food, clothes, medicines and essential items.
An estimated 50 trucks were required to transport relief materials provided by people from all walks of life and professions.
Hundreds of student volunteers were seen working seamlessly to collect huge amounts of relief. They struggled to empty the relief fleet.
Although cash and dry food were brought, volunteers said water, dates and tissue were scarce. They also highlighted the need for more volunteers to carry out relief collection activities properly.
Izaz, a sixth grader, came to TSC with his parents around 1:00 pm. Along with his father, Izaz was carrying a heavy sack on his head.
His father said their family came to Dhaka University leaving another child aged 11 months at home at Rayerbazar.
Izaz's father Al Imran, a banker and former student of the university's finance department, also took his son out during the agitation. He mentioned, "I want to teach my son to work for people from his early age."
Like Izaz, people from all walks of life have joined this mass relief collection.
On the second day of the programme on Friday, the Anti-discrimination Student Movement raised more than Tk 1.42 crore, said Abu Baker Majumder, a coordinator of the movement.
However, the students did not disclose the collected money of Saturday until the filing of this report at 8:30 pm.
The relief programme began on Thursday, with a booth set up at the main gate of TSC. Students, after gathering in the cafeteria and working hard throughout the day, also participated in packaging relief materials at night.
On the first day, more than Tk 29 lakh was collected, with donations including bottled water, food saline, puffed rice, biscuits and dates.
Additionally, a concert styled 'Joruri Songjog' was hosted at the foot of Raju Sculpture on Friday to crowd-fund for flood victims.
The event, organized by leaders and activists of left-leaning student organisations, ran from noon to midnight.
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