Community comes together: Free funeral service for tornado victim Janesh Prasad

Tuesday, 22 June 2021

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expresses sympathy for the family of tornado victim Janesh Prasad at a press conference in Auckland on Monday.

The local community has come out in strong support for the family of south Auckland tornado victim Janesh Prasad, whose funeral will be held Wednesday, June 23, at no cost to the family.

Prasad died while working on Saturday at the South Auckland Freight Hub in Wiri after he was picked up by a tornado.

He worked as a diesel mechanic for forklift business Stellar Machinery and was repairing equipment when the tragedy struck.

The last photo taken of Janesh Prasad by his daughter, Ashley, on Friday night, before he was killed by a tornado the next day.

Prasad's funeral will be held at Ann's Funeral Home and Onsite Cremations in Wiri at 1pm, free of charge, thanks to Sam Achary of the funeral home.

**READ MORE:

Sam Achary, of Ann's Funeral Home in Wiri, has provided a free funeral for tornado victim Janesh Prasad.

* Auckland tornado: PM expresses 'heartfelt sympathy' to family of man killed

Auckland mayor Phil Goff talks to Radio Tarana's Sanjesh Narain about the damage and insurance for homes affected by last Saturday's tornado.

* Best mate pays tribute to devoted family man who died after tornado picked him up at Auckland workplace

* Auckland tornado: Worker died after being picked up and thrown against object

* Auckland tornado: Family mourn death as clean-up continues**

A givealittle page, as at 4pm Tuesday, had raised more than $85,000 for the family of Prasad, who leaves behind wife Mala Archana, and children Ashley, 13, and Jesh, 10.

Krish Naidu, president of Fiji Girmit Foundation NZ, was helping distribute food parcels in tornado-hit Papatoetoe on Sunday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also expressed sympathy for Prasad's family, who are originally from Labasa, Fiji, but had lived in Nausori, near Suva, for a while.

'I'd like to express my heartfelt sympathy for the family of Janesh Prasad, who lost his life as a result of the tornado in Auckland,' Ardern said at a press conference in Auckland this week.

'I know everyone's thoughts are with his wife, children, friends and colleagues.'

A huge turnout is expected for the funeral, and the funeral home has suggested people carpool as parking spaces onsite are limited, although free parking is available on Bolderwood Pl, and side streets.

For those wishing to view funeral proceedings online, click here. Event ID is Annsfuneral, password: R9FIUZ

Meanwhile, the clean-up continues in Papatoetoe in the aftermath of the tornado, with many community groups, including the Supreme Sikh Society, distributing food parcels to affected residents in the area.

The Fiji Girmit Foundation New Zealand, together with Republic Bar and Kitchen, distributed food parcels to affected residents on Sunday.

Foundation president Krish Naidu said it was heartening to see the community coming together to help each other in a time of natural disaster.

'A lot more work will be needed here before those affected get back on their feet,' Naidu said.

Auckland mayor Phil Goff said an insurance policy was vital for people needing to make claims on damage to their properties.

'You need to have an insurance policy in order to draw on the insurance protection of your home and contents.

'Sadly there are some cases where people have given up their insurance policy because their budget was a bit tight.

'You can't and you shouldn't fully compensate people without insurance cover because that wouldn't be fair on people who pay their premiums and have their insurance policy,' Goff said.

'But in time you don't want to leave people in a position of severe hardship because they made a mistake, and because a natural disaster has wiped out much of their lifetime savings invested in their home.

'The sum of money that we're talking about won't run into millions of dollars, but it is there to provide, at least interim assistance to people who have suffered hardship.'