CHENNAI: A large number of homeless and migrant labourers have been left in the lurch since the 21-day lockdown was announced in the country. While most of the people are on an extended holiday, there are those waiting for a morsel to keep them from starvation. The government has been doing its bit to take care of the underprivileged during these testing times, but a lot remains to be done. This gap is being filled by many good Samaritans who have begun pitching in, either by opening their doors for the homeless or feeding the hungry.
One such person is M Sarala from a fishing hamlet in Kovalam. A mother of two, Sarala has been cooking and feeding 10-15 persons amid the lockdown. When asked what made her do it, the woman said coronavirus has affected everyone, more so people who are out on the streets, and she was worried that they were going hungry. “On normal days, there are hotels, but during the lockdown, they starve,” she said.
When asked if her husband was okay with it, Sarala said it was he who encouraged her to go ahead. She cooks wholesome meals and distributes them to around 10 people every day. After cooking, she wraps the food, kick-starts her bike and delivers the packets to the needy. I would love to help more people if I could, said Sarala. On the first day, she distributed lemon rice and on day two, she gave them sambar rice with potato curry. Sarala hopes to provide food every day during the lockdown.
Meet the ‘PG akka’
The list of unsung heroes goes on. In Padi, an industrial area, 10 occupants of Mani Padmavathy Nivas, a paying guest (PG) accommodation for bachelors, are indebted to Shantha akka as she has been providing them lunch and dinner. Fondly called akka, Shanta, who works as a cleaner there, embarked on this endeavour after coming to know that these 10 people went hungry on March 22, the day of janata curfew, as they didn’t know how to cook.