For many, lockdowns imposed by governments across the world proved to be a blessing in disguise, while there are many who have been pushed into destitution. India seems to be bearing a very heavy price. It had to shut down its industries, religious places, markets, recreational spots, malls & multiplexes, etc. As a result of which, the supply chains collapsed. No doubt, the only vaccination available against corona is that of social distancing which was facilitated by the lockdown.
Many people got an opportunity to do their office chores from home. People working in IT, Digital Marketing, Data Science, Financing, etc. have been working from home. While, people working in construction, laboratories, tours & travels, manufacturing sector, street vendors, rickshaw and lorry pullers, etc. are worst affected. Although it is not a good idea to depend upon offerings offered by devotees outside- temples, Gurudwaras, mosques, churches, etc. but certainly many lost their daily food supplies. Some tutors, who were tutoring children by going to their home and supporting their studies now find no source of income. Likewise, caterers and street food vendors- momos, noodles, burgers, mocktails, tea stalls, etc. are reeling under this Corona stricken economy. Grameen schools, that used to serve mid-day meals to their students are now unable to feed those not so affluent children. The list is endless.
We are hearing about the plight of migrant workers daily. They have been thrown out of their jobs. Some have not been able to eat food for days at a stretch. Some have been walking under the scorching sun for miles from one part of the country to the other part to reach their natives. Some have even collapsed during their hard journey. Some will never ever return back to their workplaces. Some found an alternate source of survival, for example- some cab drivers started selling fruits and vegetables. But what remains the focus is access to basic amenities for survival- food, clean drinking water, health facilities and shelter.
This unfortunate circumstance has sparked the revival of humanity amongst the masses. At the same time, many have realized it is not about who can help us but it is all about how we can help ourselves by helping others. Many people came up to donate voluntarily in the PM CARE fund and many other such donation drives to help the society as a whole. However, there are other people as well and societies/ organizations that have taken the arduous task of serving the needy with the permission of respective authorities. They have been providing cooked food, rations, slippers and PPE kits to the impoverished and destitute.
One such society is the Nehru Educational & Welfare Trust, founded by Mr Jawahar Lal Mahatha in 2016 in Bokaro to empower people. He has been helping the underprivileged section of the society relentlessly. Even before the advent of Coronavirus, they were helping in the sectors of- health, education, agriculture, farming, animal husbandry, society upliftment, etc. and now they are also helping fight against corona.
One of the associated volunteers, Mr Mukesh Kumar, a civil engineer, left his job to help the residents of his hometown, Bokaro in Jharkhand. He informed, they have been actively organizing awareness drives about precautions against spread of Corona. Moreover, they are distributing- wheat flour, potato, onion, cooking oil, salt, rice, pulses and soap to each of the affected family in the region. As much as 300 meals are prepared on a daily basis so they can help fill the stomach of the needy people. Their prime focus of attention is: Daily wage earners, migrants, destitute children, senior citizens and pregnant women. He also informed that many people have been donating voluntarily to help run this facility while remaining they are financing from their own savings. He has also requested for voluntary donations from other people as well, for which he can be reached out at his contact no.- 9940247942.
Just like Mukesh and the organization with which he is associated with to help the needy, there are many such people working across India day and night. Our medical and police people are leaving no stone unturned to keep the virus from spreading and cure the infected people. Some people are distributing biscuits, water bottles, canned/ bottled juices on highways to the migrants. Actor Sonu Sood, is the travel of migrants from Mumbai to their natives. Singer Mohit Chauhan, has been feeding the stray dogs in New Delhi. Some residents are helping their domestic workers with their monthly salaries even when they were not able to come to work because of lockdown. Again, the list is endless. But, certainly, the pandemic has proved man-kind can never surpass the laws of nature and that we should try to learn to live in harmony with nature and animals.
