Actor is reaching out with essentials to the needy in Malegaon too, besides city suburbs like Bandra, Madh Island and Kalyan, even as he continues to support daily wage workers
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 5, 2020)

Salman Khan was among the first Bollywood actors to lend support to the industry’s daily wage workers, directly transferring money to the bank account of 25,000 people registered with FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees, a worker’s union). Soon after, the actor got in touch with CINTAA (Cine & TV Artists Association) to help out-of-work actors registered with the body, then, repeated the process with the lookalikes of B-Town’s A-listers as also vertically challenged actors registered with the All India Special Artistes Association.

“Salman has transferred money to the accounts of approximately 32,000 daily wage workers from different sectors of the industry in April. Another transaction to the same lot will happen around May 15. He is transferring the money in installments to ensure a steady flow of income,” revealed a source.

On Sunday night, Salman posted a video of himself loading foodgrains and vegetables in bullock cart and tractors at his farmhouse in Panvel. Mirror has learnt that in the midst of  Coronavirus lockdown, the actor has been supporting all the villagers living close to his farmhouse. “He has supplied rice, lentils, vegetables, eggs and foodgrains to over 1000 families in the villages around Panvel, some of the essentials are grown in his own farm,” the source acknowledged, adding that villagers have been asked to reach out to the 54-year-old actor or his team in case of an emergency or urgent need.

“He has also procured and distributed hundreds of sanitisers and soaps to the locals so they can maintain basic hygiene.”

The source goes on to inform that recently, some people from a slum in Kalyan reached out for help and Salman got basic food items supplied to the entire locality through his on-ground team working in the city. “Around 500-600 families in Malegaon, which is one of the hotspots in Maharashtra, also got grains and vegetables recently from him, as also hundreds of impoverished families in Madh Island,” the source informed.

Meanwhile, his father, Salim Khan, who is living in their Bandra apartment, is actively involved in signing the cheques and getting things distributed in Mumbai. Salman is also in touch with his politician friend, Baba Siddique, and his son, Zeeshan, to reach the needy in Bandra and other remote suburbs.

The actor’s manager, Jordy Patel, confirmed the news to Mirror, saying, “Yes, Salman is helping in whatever way possible, on a day-to-day basis.”