Mumbai Auto Driver's Touching story goes viral; Receives Rs 24 lakh through crowdfunding initiative

Mumbai: As the world kept on debating whether social media is a boon or bane, a heartwarming story came to the fore that speaks volumes of how social media can also be a source of happiness.

Earlier, in February, the Humans of Bombay in its Facebook page shared the story of an elderly auto driver Deshraj who lost his two sons. Following their death, the responsibility of the family of seven came upon the elderly shoulders. Deshraj would hardly make ends meet with the meagre Rs 10,000 he earned monthly.

"I started working long hours-I'd leave home at 6am and drive my auto till midnight. Only then, would I be able to make Rs 10,000 a month. After spending Rs 6000 on their school fees and stationery, I'd be left with barely Rs 4000 to feed my family of 7," Deshraj said in the Facebook post of Humans of Bombay.

"But everything seemed worth it when last year, my granddaughter told me that she'd scored 80% in her 12th boards-I was on cloud nine! The whole day, I gave a free ride to all my customers! She said to me, 'Dadaji, I want to do a B.Ed course in Delhi'," he added.

Deshraj who looks after the family worked for prolonged hours and paid the school fees for his grandchildren. He managed to educate his grandchildren and send one of his granddaughters to Delhi to pursue higher education. However, he had to sell the roof above his head and ended up homeless.

Deshraj was quoted as, "Educating her in another city was way beyond my capacity, but I had to fulfill her dreams… at any cost. So, I sold our house and paid her fees. Then, I sent my wife, daughter-in-law and other grandkids to our relatives' home in our village, while I continued staying in Mumbai without a roof."

Soon after his post shared by the Humans of Bombay went viral and offers of help poured in from all quarters. His story was also posted on Twitter by Congress's Archana Dalmia with an appeal to Mumbai residents to help the auto driver - the post was retweeted by Milind Deora as well.

A crowdfunding initiative was launched, and Rs 24 lakh, through individual contributions, has now been collected for him.

Gunjan Ratti a Facebook user started a fundraiser for Deshraj, which exceeded its goal of ₹ 20 lakh.

Expressing gratitude to the crowdfunding initiative, the Humans of Bombay in an updated post mentioned that Deshraj has received a cheque of ₹ 24 lakh

The page shared a video on Monday which shows Deshraj receiving a cheque for ₹ 24 lakh and thanking his supporters

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