W hile the world of volunteers and government agencies seem to be taking care of the fact that stranded migrant workers will have to be fed, there isn’t much noticeable effort in terms of ensuring they are well-clothed.
Sunil Jayaraman, founder-member, Chitlapakkam Rising, a residents group for Chitlapakkam that focusses on social service and civic awareness and intervention, says, “The stranded migrant workers are housed at State government-run shelter camps, which include bus terminuses turned into shelters, and provided with food. But unfortunately, most migrant workers are likely to not have enough change of clothes for the period that the lockdown lasts. They would also need towels and bed-sheets.”
So, the volunteers of Chitlapakkam Rising started a clothes collection drive, which was recently reported by The Hindu Downtown.
Chitlapakkam Rising has now stated that the response to the drive has been overwhelming.
Many residents shared their location on WhatsApp for the volunteers to come and collect their gently-used clothes, kept neatly ironed. There were other residents who visited the homes of the Chitlapakkam Rising volunteers made a donation of clothes.
Around 250 sets of clothes were collected, says a volunteer of Chitlapakkam Rising.
The volunteers segregated and packed the clothes on the basis of their categories and sizes.
At the time of this article being written, volunteers were getting ready to go to the camps where the migrant labourers are sheltered, and distribute the clothes to them.
“We will re-initiate the drive if the need arises,” says Sunil.
For details about any clothes collection drive that they may start in the future, you may Sunil Jayaraman at 95001 22151, or V. Udaya Kumar at 97914 68280.
