Punjab floods: Radio network in Canada raises $2 million in just 2 days

A private FM radio network in Canada has raised $2 million in just two days to aid flood victims in Punjab.

According to reports, the fundraising effort saw overwhelming support from Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. Listeners of Red FM Vancouver and Calgary on Thursday pledged over $1.5 million, including $1 million from Vancouver alone and $4,60,000 from Calgary. The momentum continued on the next day, as Red FM Toronto raised nearly $5,00,000, bringing the total to $2 million.

The donations will be directed to Sikhi Awareness Foundation (SAF) International, a Surrey-based non-profit organisation actively working in India. The funds will support a three-phase relief strategy: emergency aid, rehabilitation, and long-term rebuilding for those displaced by the floods.

The disaster in Punjab has left over 1,900 villages submerged and thousands displaced. The Red FM initiative, led by its stations in Surrey (93.1 and 89.1 FM), Calgary (106.7 FM), and Toronto (88.9 FM), has mobilised not just the Punjabi community but the broader South Asian diaspora in Canada.

“In the 19 years we have been organising Radiothons, the response from our community has always been exceptional,” said Red FM president Kulwinder Sanghera. “The South Asian community continues to step up, time and again, to support those in need.”