It is a well-known fact that it is a dream of every parent to get their children hitched in the most lavish way and they save up accordingly. However, in a very heartwarming act, this father in Kerala—which is reeling under floods— not only cancelled his daughter's engagement ceremony but has also chosen to donate the money he had saved for the function to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund.
Manoj, a journalist by profession, took this step after talking to the family of his daughter's fiancé. The engagement ceremony was supposed to take place in the Koothukulam residence of Manoj, who the resident editor of Deshabhimani, a Malayalam newspaper, and the organ of the State Committee of the Communist Party of India
"The engagement and ring exchange of my daughter Devi and that of Advocate Sudhakaran, son Advocate Gokul, was scheduled for August 19," Manoj said in a Facebook post.
"But considering the unprecedented natural disaster which Kerala has been facing, the function is being cancelled. We, both the families, have decided to donate the money set aside for that to the Distress Relief Fund of the Chief Minister," the journalist added.
Kerala has been affected by the worst floods that the state has seen in over a century. Incessant rainfall, which has been battering the state for the past few days, has left more than 200 dead.
An aerial view of the flood-hit Kerala, on Aug 16, 2018IANS 
A view of flooded streets of Kozhikode of KeralaIANS 
ANI
ANI
Massive relief operations are on in the state and over 80,000 people have reportedly been evacuated from the waterlogged regions and taken to safer areas. The Indian Army, the Air Force and Navy personnel, along with the National Disaster Response Force and volunteers have been racing against time and working tirelessly to save people.
The flood has left thousands homeless with no proper food, drinking water, clothes and medicines. People from all across the nation have been asked to chip in and donate things like rice, pulses, clothes, match sticks, sanitary napkins, coconut oil, diapers to the affected people.
A Chief Minister Distress Relief Fund has also been set up. Click the link below to know how you can make donations to the fund.
Kerala floods: Here's how you can make your contribution to CM's Distress Relief Fund
Meanwhile, prime minister Narendra Modi has announced a relief fund of Rs 500 crore to Kerala. The State Bank of India has made a contribution of Rs 2 crore to the CMDRF.
The news about the floods has also made international headlines and Liverpool FC and FC Barcelona have assured to provide aid to the affected residents of the flood-hit state.
