COVID-19: How these Assam youths are providing food to needy ones

Nalbari: Ever since the nationwide lockdown was announced in India amid the coronavirus pandemic, reports of the poor and downtrodden people suffering due to it have surfaced from across the nation. However, the alarming situation has also brought to the fore countless stories of people who are serving the needy.

In one such noble initiative, a group of youths from Nalbari district in Assam are distributing food materials to those who are really in need and can’t arrange their daily meals.

The group called ‘Podokhep’ (Assamese word for ‘initiative’) includes around 10 youths who are using their pocket money to arrange for food packages that include rice, pulses, biscuits, potatoes, salt and soap to daily-wage labourers and widows of the village who work as domestic help.

Prasanta Kalita, a member of the organisation, told EastMojo that the process began on Sunday morning where the package was delivered to around 70 families of the village.

“Before distributing, we had discussed this with the village elders and they said that if we wanted to do it in a larger way it will require permission from the district administration. So, only three to four of us stood in queue at the grocery shops soon after they opened and went out to distribute the packages. Although it is a small package, it will help the families survive at least a week. We also advised them not to step out of their homes and to wash their hands after certain intervals. This way, we could help the daily wage labourers and those who worked at other people’s houses but are jobless now,” Prasanta said.

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The initiative has come to a halt as they have run out all the resources. However, they also see some hope as several others from the village have stepped out to provide monetary support. If all goes well, the youths want to distribute another round of packages to the same families a week later.

“There are people who have come forward to help us but there are a lot of people who need support. The numbers may go way over 100. If the situation gets better, we will try to provide food to all of them and also conduct a health camp for the villagers,” Prasanta added.

Formed around a month ago, the prime motive of Podokhep is to help village in developing. The unfavourable situation came as an opportunity for the group to take their first step.