Pant to donate match fee towards rescue operations in Uttarakhand

Chennai: India’s swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant said he will donate his match fee towards rescue operations for the glacier burst in Uttarakhand and also encouraged others to come forward and contribute.

A glacier broke off at Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday, leading to a massive flood in the Dhauli Ganga river and causing large-scale devastation in the upper reaches of the ecologically fragile Himalayas.

Pant was born in Roorkee, a town in the state’s Haridwar district.

“Deeply pained by the loss of life in Uttarakhand. Would like to donate my match fee for the rescue efforts and would urge more people to help out,” Pant wrote on his Twitter handle.

In an earlier post on Sunday, the 23-year-old wicketkeeper expressed his grief over the loss of lives in the natural calamity.

“My sincere condolences and prayers for the families of those affected by the Uttarakhand flash floods. I hope that the rescue operations underway are able to help those in trouble,” he had written.

Pant tweeted soon after making a breathtaking 91 in the ongoing opening Test between India and England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here.

More than 150 labourers working in a power project are missing, officials said.

Homes along the way were swept away as the waters rushed down the mountainsides in a raging torrent. There were fears of damage in human settlements downstream. Many villages were evacuated and people taken to safer areas on Sunday.