Curry king raises £76,000 for tsunami victims in Sri Lanka

CURRY king Charan Gill is to visit tsunami victims in Sri Lanka after raising £76,000 from a karaoke night for entrepreneurs.

Curry boss Charan Gill

Mr Gill, who owns the Harlequin empire, invited 125 friends to a curry karaoke fund-raiser at his daughter's restaurant in Glasgow to raise cash for the Hikkaduwa Area Relief Fund.

The money raised was matched by a £25,000 donation from Glasgow's Sikh community and the £100,000 donation will help build a school and orphanage for needy kids in Hikkaduwa.
Entrepreneurs John Boyle Chris and Mary Gorman of The Gadget Shop, and Jim McGonigle of Qube shoe shop were among those invited to the karaoke night.

Mr Gill said: "I was watching TV when the phone numbers came up to make a contribution. I was going to call in and ease my conscience, but decided to call my daughter Ceetl, who runs Curry Karaoke Club with her husband.

"I asked if I could borrow the club for a night. We set a date and I texted a few friends. Within two hours all the seats were gone." Every penny raised from the £40-a-head event went to the fund. Staff worked for free and suppliers donated stock.

The Hikkaduwa Relief Fund was launched last month by Glasgow City Council Lord Provost Liz Cameron and businessman Neil Butler to help the people of Hikkaduwa - an area of Sri Lanka where 6% of the population died.

Mr Gill hopes a new primary school and orphanage can be built with his contribution and has vowed to visit Hikkaduwa in early March. He will also meet up with Mr Butler, who has a hotel in the disaster-hit area.

Mr Gill added: "I promised everyone I would see this through. I'm not one for just writing cheques.
"We need to do something for the children."

The Hikkaduwa Area Relief Fund currently stands at just under £300,000. But once the latest donations from Mr Gill, a recent chef's gala dinner and the World is One concert are added, the figure is expected to double. CURRY king Charan Gill is to visit tsunami victims in Sri Lanka after raising £76,000 from a karaoke night for entrepreneurs. (The Evening Time, Glasgow)

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