12-yr-old Pays For Airfare Of 3 Migrants

RANCHI: A small philanthropic gesture by a 12-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh's Noida is winning hearts. Amid the migrants crisis in the country, Niharika Dwivedi paid for the airfare of three migrant workers from Jharkhand from her piggy bank savings that she saved over the years.

The Class 8 student, paid Rs 48,000 to buy air tickets for the three workers from Jharkhand, one of them a cancer patient. "Society has given us much and it is our responsibility to return it during this crisis," she said.

Her act of kindness drew appreciation from Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday.

Appreciating her action, Soren said he was grateful to the student for her sensitivity to the needs of others and wished her a bright future, a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.

Niharika's help assumes significance amid the distress faced by migrants across the country with many of them walking hundreds of kilometres to reach their homes, and some dying due to accidents and fatigue during the arduous journey.

It is learnt that she was asking her common friends if there was someone who needed help and came to know about the three Jharkhand residents.