ALAPPUZHA: It has been a year since the novel coronavirus infection first hit the state, and the country. Through the course of the unprecedented year, a seven-member team — young and vibrant — from Alappuzha has done its bit in serving people during the lockdown. And they continue to be at the call of duty in any crisis. The special task force, titled Greyaiders, was formed in 2017. Most of its members are former NCC cadets and self-defence instructors.
The name Greyaiders was suggested by Sanjeevan MV, a Subedar with the Madras Regiment. ‘Grey’ is considered the colour of ash during a disaster and ‘aider’ stands for one providing aid in such times.
When the lockdown was imposed, the team swung into action extending help to those affected in various parts of the state. So much so Greyaiders were selected as the Alappuzha district coordinators of the state government initiative ‘Samoohika Sannadha Sena’ (Social Voluntary Force), as directed by the then District Collector A Alexander. The Greyaiders formed a command and control centre for the efficient utilisation and deployment of volunteers.
“We have achieved a total deployment of 11,694 volunteers at various spots in the district and worked around 64,502 duty hours,” said Achinth T R, a Greyaiders member.
“Over the past five months, 100-odd Samoohika Sannadha Sena volunteers were deployed every working day. The volunteers are carrying out duties like assisting sector magistrates, law enforcement personnel, Covid control room staff and health officials.”
Their services will continue until the pandemic is wiped out, the team members said. But the battle against the coronavirus is not their first ‘assignment’. The Greyaiders were involved in rescue and relief efforts during the 2018 flood, in Kuttanad — one of the worst-affected areas.
In 2019, the team became special trainers of the Kerala Voluntary Youth Action Force under the Kerala Youth Welfare Board in Munnar during the landslide.
Apart from designing a mobile application for coordinating volunteers, the team has also developed a low-cost, improvised foot-operated sanitiser dispenser and foot-operated wash points.As requested by the Indian Army, these were installed at the Pangode army camp and the territorial army camp in Kannur, Achinth said. Other members are Gibin Babu, Damu Chandran, Athulya S, Shyam K Sidharthan, Akshay Krishnan and Jinto Alexander. All are taekwondo blackbelt holders.