NGOs extend a helping hand

Volunteer groups are collaborating with corporate entities in the city to help out less privileged residents who are struggling for sustenance in the wake of the nationwide lockdown to stem the COVID-19 pandemic.

No Food Waste (NFW), a Coimbatore-based NGO that redistributes surplus meals among the poor, has partnered with Reliance Foundation to give away rations to 3,000 needy families in Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchi. Each relief pack contains 10 kg of rice, 2 kg of dal, sugar, oil and spices, adding up to 15 kg. Its Tiruchi chapter distributed packs to those at Ariyamangalam dumping ground on Thursday. Those who want it had to register their identity proofs and phone numbers.

In a press release, it said a second initiative with other corporates and philanthropists is being planned to reach out to 20,000 poor people like daily wage earners and those without ration cards in Chennai, Tiruchi, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Madurai, Dharmapuri, Hyderabad and West Godavari district.

A group of residents of Srirangam has got together for the past one week to distribute aid given by Tiruchi district-level employees of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited of India.

“Many essential service providers like ambulance, lorry drivers and police personnel are unable to eat properly due to closure of highway restaurants. Apart from the poor and homeless people living in suburban areas, many autorickshaw and fish-cart operators are waiting for relief. So we have been distributing lunch and pre-packaged food items through pick-up points at 11 HP petrol stations and fanning out to remote areas in the city to look for deserving recipients,” said Arudra Saravanakumar, a film-maker who is leading the effort with four of his friends.

So far, the group, which moves around in two vehicles, has given lunch packs, biscuits, buns, bread, water bottles and milk shakes to at least 1500 people. “Extending the lockdown may make it difficult for volunteers like us to function alone, as there are so many needy residents who have been badly hit by loss of their livelihood. More companies could dedicate their Corporate Social Responsibility to the Coronavirus relief effort this year, so we don’t have to exclude anyone who is in dire need,” he added.