Hassan Cheruppa
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH – In a humanitarian gesture to support people without a home, a Gulf-based prominent businessman has donated half acre of land, costing around 20 million rupees, to build a residential township for the poor in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Sheikh Rafik Mohammed, chairman of Gammon Group, handed over documents of the plot to Panakkad Basheerali Shihab Thangal, leader of Indian Union Muslim League, at a recent function held in Jeddah.
The function was also attended by Muhammad Ahmad Faiz Al-Omairi, Gammon Group’s Director Faisal Nallalam, PR Manager Danish Muhammad, Ashraf Haji Palangad, and Suhail Makkah.
Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Mohammed said that the residential township project will be implemented as part of the ambitious Baiturrahma scheme of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Center (KMCC), the overseas affiliate of Muslim League and the largest Indian expatriate organization in the Gulf. “The Gammon Group will play an active role in implementing the project in the best manner. Housing units at the township will be allotted to the poor people belonging to all sections of the Indian society, irrespective of religious or political considerations, and there will be a priority for those expatriates who have failed to accomplish their dream of a house of their own.”
According to Mohammed, the residential township will have all the infrastructure facilities, including school, mosque, health center and other facilities. The residential facilities will be built in the native village of Mohammed, called Eravannur, Narikkuni, 15 km from the northern city of Calicut. A few years ago, the madrassa in the village was renovated at the expense of the Gammon chief. He also disclosed renovation plans of the mosque in the village that was built with the funding of his mother’s grandfather several decades ago.
Mohammed also lauded the Baiturrahma humanitarian initiative of KMCC. There are hundreds of poor expatriates among the beneficiaries of this housing scheme. KMCC has built more than 1,000 houses for the poor people after raising funds mainly through donations from its workers. The scheme was named after the late Panakkad Sayyid Muhammadali Shihab Thangal, one of the towering Indian Muslim leaders, and former president of the Kerala unit of Muslim League.
