Tamil Nadu: Security guard donates one-month salary to Covid-19 relief fund; Stalin gifts book

59-year-old Thangadurai pedalled over 12 km to reach Fort St George, the seat of power of Tamil Nadu Government, to hand over his one month salary of Rs 10,101 to the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund (CMPRF) to M K Stalin. As his attempt to meet the Chief Minister failed, Thangadurai deposited the money to the government.

But on Friday, Thangadurai was given an audience by Stalin, who called him to his office at the Secretariat. Appreciating Thangadurai's gesture of donating his salary to the CMPRF, Stalin gifted him a book written by his father late M Karunanidhi.

Thangadurai, who hails from Mayiladuthurai in the Cauvery Delta region, works as a security guard in Valasaravakkam in Chennai.

Stalin posted a video of him receiving Thangadurai at his office and gifting him with the book. “Chief Minister congratulated me for donating one month's salary to the public fund and gave me a book,” Thangadurai told reporters, showing the book.

“People should wear masks, and follow instructions that are given by the government regularly. We need to be very careful,” he said. Stalin had on May 11 appealed to the people to donate generously to CMPRF for buying vaccines, medical equipment, and oxygen to treat Covid-19 patients.

In the past few days, actors, industrialists, and entrepreneurs have made contributions to the fund.