KOZHIKODE: In a gesture aimed at religious harmony, two temple committees at Kottakkal in Malappuram district have extended support to a mosque committee in their attempt to raise funds for the treatment of an 18-year-old girl. While the Kuttipurathukav Bhagavathy temple committee contributed more than Rs 50,000, the Narasimha Moorthi temple committee contributed Rs 27,000 to the Alukkal Juma Masjid to support Hanna, who is battling cancer.
The mosque committee has so far raised more than Rs 1.5 crore for the Kottakkal resident being treated at a private hospital in Kozhikode. The Kuttipurathukav Bhagavathy temple committee members have also made use of the opportunity to encourage their community members to support the mosque committee raise sufficient funds to help Hanna.
“We are delighted to have been able to make this contribution to the mosque committee which is striving to raise funds to help a girl survive cancer. It’s nice that people from both communities are coming together in various activities,” said temple committee secretary Ajith Kumar. This is not the first incident where the Kuttipurathukav Bhagavathy temple committee has extended such a support, he said.
Also, when the temple underwent renovation and during the annual festival, the members of the mosque whole supported the temple committee without showing any apprehension, Ajith pointed out. “We do believe in living together and not being divided by religion,” he said.
The members of the mosque committee said the gesture was hardly surprising, as they have been living in absolute harmony for several decades. “People from our community have always shown great enthusiasm in celebrating every event conducted in our neighbouring temples. With the support of everyone, we were able to raise sufficient funds for the treatment of the girl,” said a mosque committee member.
Kuttipurathukav Bhagavathy temple committee president K M S Bhattathiripad handed over the amount to the members of the treatment committee formed to raise funds. Treasurer Bahuleyan and vice-president Arumukhan were also present on the occasion.