Funds drive for landslide victims by singers

TT, Siliguri, July 17: Singer Prashant Tamang, the 2007 winner of the reality show Indian Idol, will perform here tomorrow to raise funds for the Mirik landslides victims and their families.

Amit Paul, who was the first runners-up at the show in 2007, will also perform at the show with Tamang. Parleen Singh Giri, Abhishek Kumar and Emon Chatterjee, three more artistes, will also join them at the event, which will be held in a hotel in Matigaratomorrow evening.

Entry to the event is through invitation only.

The invitees can donate any amount for the cause at the programme.

"I plan to visit Darjeeling with my friends on July 19. But before that, we heard about the disaster that took place in the hills. Our friend Amit, who was in Siliguri, first contacted me and said we should do something for the victims, and we could raise money for the affected residents of the hills," Tamang said.

Tamang hails from the Darjeeling hills, but is based in Mumbai at present.

Paul, who was also present at a news conference today, said: "After I spoke to my friends in Mumbai, I contacted a local person who is running an NGO. We requested him to organise an event so that we can hold a musical programme and raise some funds for the slide victims of the hills."

Binny Sharma, a Trinamul leader who is organising the event, said: "We have collected around Rs 3.51 lakh and will hand it over to the district magistrate of Darjeeling for the chief minister's relief fund. Whatever additional funds are collected during the event tomorrow will also be given to the relief fund."