mid-day impact: Mumbaikars come together to help roadside engineer

Mark Drsquosouza brings food for Arun Paurana after reading about him in midday PicsPoonam BathijaIts heartwarming to see the city rallying around a cause celebre For once instead of sitting around and debating till cows come home Mumbaikars decided to come together and help Arun Paurana a chemical engineering gold medallist and a pioneer in making CNG gas stations who is currently living on the streets and was reported about in middaySallauddin Patel of Azad Hawkers Union tried to help Arun PauranaRecap from four days ago when Paurana fled from an ashram his friends had put him up in and started living on the streets to now where the midday report has pulled in people who are not only offering him food and money but are also all ready to help him shift to Vapi in Gujarat mdash the city he eventually wants to live inShift to VapiAzad Hawkers Union president Borivli Sallauddin Patel said ldquoWhen I read about Arun sir I immediately went there and offered him shelter and food but he doesnrsquot want to move from thererdquoWhat we as citizens should do is that we should not ignore issues like these after some time has passed Instead in this case what we need to do is find permanent solutions He has taken my number and whenever he wishes to move to Vapi we will make first class arrangements for himrdquoAlso making a comeback Pauranarsquos friend Bhaskar Tanna who visited him outside the Mangal Kunj building mdash once Pauranarsquos home mdash soon after the midday report ldquoItrsquos amazing what unites the city Arun told me how people have been coming forward to extend all kinds of help to him He has even xeroxed a copy of the newspaper and kept it by his side Now all Iacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088hope is that we all can help him find a good and peaceful place to live inrdquo Tanna saidSince 10 am people started gathering round offering him food clothes and money Ankit Shah an aspiring chemical engineering student explained his presence with ldquoSoon after I read about him I felt I needed to meet him His story is very inspiringrdquoMeanwhile Mark DrsquoSouza who provides free daily tiffin to the elderly has promised to bring justice to the manldquoHe was delighted to eat some hot homemade food He seems like an awfully educated man I will provide him tiffin whenever he wants Moreover itrsquos time for politicians to come together and take him to the hospital One canrsquot just leave him to die in the wintersrdquo he said referring to the accident that has rendered Paurana immobile for the time beingYet another local Nilofar Attar spent hours with Arun trying to understand where it all went south for him and how we as citizens could help himShe said ldquoI donrsquot understand how families can do this No matter what went wrong you cannot leave your parent on the road when hersquos met with an accident Itrsquos unbelievablerdquoNeed for wheelsMeanwhile Paurana overwhelmed by the outpouring of love told midday ldquoIrsquom sending one copy to my wife and another to my son I know that they will feel bad but I want them to know my condition I also want to thank all the people coming in for the love and support they have shownrdquoPoint of note He needs a wheelchair to be mobile again after his accident so willing donors could visit him at Mangal Kunj building in Borivli