Actors Suriya and Karthi’s fan clubs have built homes for about 50 farmer families in the village of Thanda Kulatthukarai, in Thanjavur district. This was one of the worst affected areas by cyclone Gaja. The actors’ fans built 15 houses of Rs 10 lakh each, under the guidance of Paramu, who heads their welfare associations. The fans later celebrated Pongal with the residents.
Karthi and Suriya thanked their fans on Twitter. Karthi also announced the he has launched Uzhavan Foundation which will work for the welfare of farmers. He said that since the release of his Pandiraj-directed film Kadai Kutty Singam, everyone has been wanting to do something for farmers. The foundation recently donated Rs 1 lakh to five farmers affected by Gaja cyclone in the delta region.
அனைவருக்கும் என் இனிய பொங்கல் திருநாள் வாழ்த்துக்கள்.#உழவன்ஃபவுண்டேஷன் #உழவன்விருதகள் #பயிர்செய்யவிரும்பு @UzhavanFDN pic.twitter.com/D3Q3k1nxUB
— Actor Karthi (@Karthi_Offl) January 15, 2019
— Suriya Sivakumar (@Suriya_offl) January 20, 2019
Cyclone Gaja hit the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in November. According to the reported numbers, 65 people died and 250,000 were evacuated to relief camps.
Nearly 1 crore coconut trees were damaged, and officials in the state agriculture department said at least 70,000 coconut farmers were directly affected in Pudukottai, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and mainly Thanjavur’s Orathanadu, Pattukkottai, Peravurani districts.
Recommended
Following demands from farmers’ groups, the government fixed a compensation amount at Rs 1,512 per coconut tree uprooted during the cyclone.
Many Tamil celebrities and their fan clubs offered support. Among the first were Suriya, Karthi, Jyotika, and Sivakumar, along with director Rajsekar, who donated Rs 50 lakh for relief work. Rajini Makkal Mandram distributed Rs 50 lakh worth relief materials. Actor Vijay transferred Rs 40 lakh to district presidents of Vijay Makkal Iyakkam to carry out relief work.
Dhanush’s fan clubs and Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam members extended support on ground. Kamal visited affected areas soon, starting with Thanjavur district. Sivakarthikeyan, Varalakshmi Sarathkumar, GV Prakash, Pa Ranjith, among others extended support.
On the acting front, Karthi’s Dev is scheduled to release on February 14 while Suriya has wrapped up shoot for the Selvaraghavan directorial NGK.