AHMEDABAD: The kin of the Gujarati family which froze to death on the Canada-US border have started crowdsourcing funds to conduct the last rites.
Jagdish Patel, 39, Vaishali Patel, 37, and their children Vihangi, 11, and Dharmik, 3, died from exposure to the frigid cold on January 19 while they were attempting to cross into the US by foot.
Dilip Patel, a resident of Illinois and the cousin of Jagdish Patel, started the online fundraiser on Saturday. As of Sunday evening, the fundraising – that aims to raise about US $ 70,000 (about Rs 52.5 lakh) – had already received US $ 67,000 (Rs 50.3 lakh) from 510 donors.
Sources close to the development said that the bodies of the four members of Patel family are likely to be cremated in Canada this week.
Apart from Dilip Patel, another cousin of Jagdish Patel, who lives in Pennsylvania, is in charge of the last rites.
They added that a visa has also been sought for at least one member from Dingucha to attend the funeral.
“We have to stand with their family in this tragedy time with supporting of the small contributions with finance and prayers. The pain for the family cannot be imagined. There are no words to pay tribute. The cycle of birth and death is in the god hands but we could only support and stand with this family in their painful time and it would be appreciated by God with every little contribution and support done by individuals [sic],” mentions the message on the fundraising website, adding that the funds raised would go towards funeral and other expenses, and the rest would go to Patel’s family in India.
“The Indian consulate and the Canadian government have already extended all support to the kin of the deceased, including assistance in arrangements for the funeral. The Gujarati community in Manitoba is also doing its bit to help in any way,” said a Gujarati community member.
The investigation into the tragedy has pointed at human trafficking; the Canadian police are probing the incident while creating awareness among the Indian community to prevent such mishaps in the future.
