Helping out the needy amid lockdown

Hamza Masood getting the packets ready for delivery.

By Musheera Ashraf, TwoCircles.net

“Despite taking all the precautions, every day I come back home thinking that today I might have caught the virus,” says Shiba Minai a 33-year-old social worker who is working on ground to provide ration kits and cooked food among the construction site workers and people in slum areas of Hyderabad.


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A group of activists came together and appealed the government to start the Annapurna canteens but Annapurna is not accessible by everyone and does not cater to everybody. Though the Telangana Government is now trying out every possible way to stop the migrant workers from going out of the state but still the challenge to feed them is not meagre.

Member of MEEM providing cooked food

Despite being a mother of a 3-year-old baby Shiba has taken up the challenge of going out every day to help people suffering from hunger. The hospitals like Nilofer and Osmania are also falling short of safe drinking water so the group is also providing water to the patients in the hospital. The major challenge being the lack of supply and non-availability of essentials in shops.

After the announcement of the 21 days lockdown by the Prime Minister, abruptly putting one-fifth of the world’s population under lockdown to combat COVID-19, the population is facing many challenges  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/curfew-pushes-daily-items-off-shelves/articleshow/74818924.cms. “To save India and every Indian, there will be a total ban on venturing out of your homes,” Modi said.

Shiba Minai

Syed Farman Ahmed , hails from Uttar Pradesh but is presently working with his team ‘Movement For Education And Empowerment for Masses’ to cater to the needs of labour class and households living around Mustafabad and North East Delhi. “The labour class is worst affected but the people who have private jobs are also sufferings,” says Farman. With the help of a few volunteers and policemen, they move around to create awareness and identify people who require ration and food.

They get news through WhatsApp groups, after which they confirm the needs through volunteers and then provide essentials. “We are fighting with two things virus and hunger. We are putting our self under risk to help people but still, we try to take proper precautions and discuss on safety measures daily in the evening” says Farman for whom movement passes are also becoming a hurdle in reaching out to people.

People are similarly demanding help on social media and they are also being provided with proper assistance by the capable ones.

“The government should first provide basic food and the BPL should not be the parameter because after a month when I will be short of food I will also urge the government to provide me food,” says Hamza Masood who is a student of Law in Aligarh Muslim University and is providing food to around 100-150 households every day with the help of his family who are affluent enough and have pledged their crops of this season to fulfil the needs of people in Gangoh area of Saharanpur.

Distribution ration in Delhi

Hamza says that “the government has not taken any drastic step to save the economy. The people who are stuck away from their home should feel secure and when already there is PM relief fund there was no need of a new scheme PM Cares”.

Catering to the basic needs of people in Gangoh, even the providers are witnessing the shortage of pulses and other essentials like sanitisers

Questioning the possibility that this money will be used in political purposes Hamza, Shiba and Farman have similar feedback about the PM Care fund money that is still not being used for the welfare of people affected by Corona shutdown. They opine that at least transportation or food should have been provided by this money.

Saif, is a 21-year-old student from Purulia District of West Bengal. He started a help group with around 10 -15 members. They raised fund from people in their locality and then started with the distribution of sanitisers and mask to the beggars and the people who live at the roadside.

The group started distributing ration kits along with some money. The team constituted of members from all over Puralia which helped them identify the needy and provide food. In a day they used to help 30 35 people. “We then were short of funds; our stock is finished now. So we are helpless to provide help on an individual basis” says Saif

Shiba Minai in field

Saif has a different opinion on the working of government in their region. ”Our ward counsellors are giving food to every needy in Puralia town. Government is providing good support in West Bengal”. Now the people which they identified are being provided cooked food by an NGO. Whereas, “the state government in West Bengal is trying to help out people in best possible ways but on enquiring I haven’t heard anyone getting benefited by the PM cares yojana” .says Saif

 

 

 

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