ROURKELA: In a large-hearted move, a man of Rajgangpur has waived rent to help his poor tenants cope with the crisis till the situation turns normal. Md Imtiaz Khalifa, who runs a garment store, has rented out his house at Idgah lane of Ward 18 to five persons who eke out living by driving vehicles, tailoring and selling balloons.
When the tenants ran out of work after the lockdown was imposed, Khalifa decided to waive the rent for 21 days. “Even if the lockdown is extended for a month or three months, I have decided not to charge a penny from them. These workers are struggling for survival now, I cannot add to their stress”, said Khalifa, who has also been affected by the lockdown.
One of the tenants Md Nasirulla said he earns on a daily basis and does not even have money to buy food now. “I was worried about how to arrange money for paying rent but the landlord’s assurance has come as a huge relief”, he said. All the five are being provided cooked food by a local corporate house.
Meanwhile, a businessman of Rajgangpur town Pravat Samal and his partner Subhrabati Sahu donated Rs 51,000 to the CM’s relief fund on the day. Earlier, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had appealed landlords to be compassionate to poor and waive off or at least defer house rent by three months.