** This story has been updated
During the snowstorm late Tuesday (Nov. 29), Roop Dhinjal and his mother, Baljinder, thought it was a good idea to hand out snacks and tea to motorists caught in the traffic chaos near their home in Delta.
They didn’t realize their acts of kindness would warm so many hearts on social media.
Posted to Twitter, Parmbir Grewal’s photo of them prompted an avalanche of public applause for their giving ways during a difficult night for drivers.
#BCStorm people stuck over 5 hours we spotted this sikh couple giving free tee and snacks at mid night ate 104/44Ave surrey @Tarnjitkparmar pic.twitter.com/ZBm2HJNDJI
— Parmbir Grewal🇨🇦 (@GrewalParambir) November 30, 2022
Turns out, they are not a “couple,” as the tweet suggested, and the acts of kindness happened near Sunshine Woods Golf Course in Delta, not in Surrey, as reported on social media.
“We were wearing masks and gloves, so you probably couldn’t tell,” Dhinjal explained.
Earlier, he and other family members were caught in traffic.
“Starting at 5:30, it took us more than four hours to come home from Tsawwassen, which is usually a 20-minute drive,” Dhinjal explained.
“We finally got home and then made pots of tea, and we had a few boxes of granola bars from Costco that we bought the day before, cookies and stuff, and gave those out to people. We started doing that at around 10 and stayed until 1, so about three hours.”
Others in the region also fed hungry motorists caught in traffic, including Sikhs in the Queensborough area of New Westminster.
Thank you to community members and teams at local Gurdwaras for providing emergency assistance and food to stranded drivers during the storm. Sikhs protect the oppressed and serve those in need. We call upon local politicians to step up and be proactive in extreme weather events. pic.twitter.com/PjjaYWB3JJ
— The Sikh Community of 'BC' / Salish Land (@BCSikhs) November 30, 2022
“Thank you to community members and teams at local Gurdwaras for providing emergency assistance and food to stranded drivers during the storm,” posted BC Sikhs, with video. “Sikhs protect the oppressed and serve those in need. We call upon local politicians to step up and be proactive in extreme weather events.”
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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