Indian American Couple Donates $250,000 for Hurricane Harvey Relief

An Indian American couple living in Houston has donated $250,000 to the Houston mayor’s fund for the Harvey relief. Amit Bhandari and his wife Arpita Brahmbhatt Bhandari donated the amount on behalf of the Greater Houston Community Foundation to Mayor Sylvester Turner for Hurricane Harvey relief at an event on Sept. 24.

Bhandari, founder chairman and CEO of Houston-based energy and agricultural commodity trading company BioUrja Group, recalled how volunteers from the Indian community helped rescue 700 people through various means, PTI reported. The community in Houston contributed $1.5 million to various charitable organizations associated with Hurricane Harvey relief, he added. Many Indians gathered at the event thanked the Bhandaris and pledged more funds.

Turner appreciated the Indian Americans for their generosity and voluntary aid toward the relief operations at the event. “The contributions of the Indian-American community did not just start with Hurricane Harvey. They have been contributing to this city for a long, long time. The Indian community is vital to the city and helps make Houston the great city that it is,” he said.
“I want to thank the Indian-Americans for what you have done prior to Hurricane Harvey. I want to thank you for what you are doing now, and I want to thank you for what you will be doing to help rebuild this great city. We will rebuild, we will be stronger, more resilient, and better prepared for next time around.”

Dr. Anupam Ray, the Consul General of India in Houston, also thanked the community, and said, “Your generosity makes India proud. A community is great if it rises above its suffering. Through your contributions toward Hurricane Harvey relief, you’ve demonstrated that as a community, you’ve risen above your sufferings.”

Members of the group are now working on a mobile app ‘DisasterConnect’, presented during the event, which aims to help victims and donors contact each other directly to update relief efforts.

Harvey busted the U.S. record for rainfall from a single storm, dumping an estimated 27 trillion gallons of rain over Texas, killing over 70 people and displacing more than 30,000. It is the wettest tropical cyclone recorded in the United States.