The great lockdown is forcing millions of poor people to go even without a morsel of food on many days. At a time when this hunger emergency is turning into a grave crisis, a group of good samaritans in Kolkata has decided to do their bit to lessen the blow.
The friends from Kolkata's Park Circus area have so far fed at least 1500 families who are predominantly slum dwellers and from the lower ranks of the society.
Furhan Masood, Yousuf Iqbal, Azal Hussain, Fahd Ali, Tanvir Ahmed, Zeeshan Ghani, Asif Iqbal, Parvez Tahir and Zaid Islam formed a group called 'Humanity' in February last year and have been involved in various charity works. When the Indian government called for a month-long nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, these young professionals made it their priority to help the needy through the dark days.
"We try to help and serve the weaker sections of the society in the field of health and education.
The biggest event for 'Humanity' has been food ration distribution during the pandemic. With the money raised, we have served 1500 families with the help of the Karaya, Tiljala and Beniapukur police stations," said Furhan Masood, a businessman.
The group has raised over Rs 6.5 lakh with the help of friends, family and often customers, who have come forward to help them.
Each bag 'Humanity' offers consists of four kilograms of rice, two kilograms of potatoes, one kilogram of lentil, and one kilogram of chana, salt, cooking oil and soaps. These bags have been distributed in the slums of central and south Kolkata.
"Not only do we distribute rations to slums but we also reach out to individuals and families who are in need. Another 1000 kits have been prepared and will be distributed soon. A few of us will be going to the Sundarbans as they are completely cut off from the city and not many NGOs have been able to reach there," Furhan added.
Apart from helping the needy with food, these men have also distributed N95 masks to several police stations in Kolkata and to frontline workers who are battling the virus head-on.
"We noticed the police personnel initially didn't have enough protection for themselves. So, we decided to help them with masks as well. And with Ramzan upon us, we are motivated to help more people to survive the crisis," he said.
From procurement to distribution, the group has divided each task among themselves and is committed to continuing its mission until the pandemic ends.