Minister UT Khader lends Support to Shabarimala Devotees of a Burning Car
By Alfie D’Souza
Mangaluru (Update): We all should know that our beloved Karnataka minister UT Khader has been a Good Samaritan during many instances like taking the injured person/persons in an accident to the hospital or help someone stranded on the highway due to a faulty vehicle- but once again minister U T Khader has shown his kind gesture by lending his helping hand to the occupants of a car which caught fire due to short circuit.
Ayyappan’s annual festival is a time of pilgrimage for ever-growing numbers of men from throughout South India. The most prominent and famous Ayyappan shrine is the one at Sabarimala, in the hills of Pathanamthitta in Kerala, with over ten million devotees visiting it every year, making it one of the largest pilgrimage sites in the world. These devotees fast and engage in austerities under the leadership of a Guru Swami (one who has undertaken the pilgrimage to Sabarimala for 18 years) for weeks barefoot and then travel in groups to the shrine for a glimpse of Ayyappan. Masses of elated men, clad in distinctive ritual dhotis of saffron, black and light blue colors, throng public transportation during their trip to the shrine. One such devotee of Ayyappan who had already visited Sabarimala, and where on their way back to their hometown in Hubballi, were met with an unfortunate incident, where their car caught fire due to short circuit.
A group of five Ayyappan’s devotees were returning back from Sabarimala in a Tata Indica car to reach their hometown in Hubballi. After making frequent stops at various temples on their way back, they were heading to Dharmasthala via Mangaluru. While they were traveling on the highway from Nanthur towards Kankanady circle, the driver saw there was some problem with the headlight. So he stopped the car in front of an auto garage, to find a suitable headlight. Having found a used head light, the driver Maula Thashildar tried to turn the ignition key, during which sparks erupted leading to fire. Quickly the occupants of the car, emptied their belongings while the portion of the car was still burning. Luckily there was no explosion nor heavy fire damage.
In the meantime, State minister UT Khader who was passing by on that highway noticing this incident, got out of the car and interacted with the Ayyappan’s devotees, and reached his hands into his wallet and offered money to the driver to be used as part of the damage expenses. The driver who didn’t know who this Good Samaritan was, but later when he found out through Team Mangalorean that it was Minister U T Khader, he was so blessed and wanted to thank him whole-heartedly for his kind gesture.
There were five Ayyappan’s devotees in the car, including a small kid- and luckily all escaped without any injuries or fatality. The fire brigade personal also arrived at the spot. The driver Thashildar speaking to Team Mangalorean said, ” We are all lucky that Ayyappan saved us from a big disaster. We are also thankful to the citizens of Mangaluru for lending their helping hand during the incident, and our sincere thanks to Minister U T Khader for his kind gesture and trying to console us during this tragedy. We will make necessary arrangements to reach our hometown while leaving the car in Mangaluru to be fixed after Insurance procedures”.
Minister Khader Assists Shabarimala Devotees to Put out Car Fire at Nanthur
Mangaluru: Minister for food and civil supplies once again proved that humanity is above all as he rushed to assist the Shabarimala Devotees as their car caught fire due to a technical fault at Nanthur, NH 17 here on January 13.
Speaking to mangalorean.com minister U T Khader said, “I was on my way home from the airport. On Nanthur-Pumpwell road, NH 17 I saw a car on fire. I immediately stopped my car and rushed to help the occupants of the car to douse the fire along with the locals, they were devotees from Hubballi who were returning to their native place from Shabarimala.
“We also informed the fire service who reached the spot. All the occupants in the car are safe, said minister Khader
Pics by Alfie D’Souza
