It’s when this city faces adversity that its true steel comes to the fore. On Tuesday, as the rain wrought mayhem, Mumbaikars threw open their homes and hearts for their fellow citizens.
More than tea, shelter
As stranded citizens tweeted their plight, people in the safety of their homes responded by inviting anyone stranded near their location to come over without hesitation. Offers ranged from shelter, tea and food to cell phone chargers and shows on Netflix and Amazon, with people enabling their Direct Message (DM) option so that those in need could get in touch. Within an hour, tweets picked up pace and the hashtag #rainhosts began trending. Users like Jay (@CruciFire) created a thread of tweets offering help, while Mehul Ved (@MehulVeD) created an Excel spreadsheet and shared it using Google Documents, which was retweeted over 700 times.
Almost all Ganeshotsav mandals, gurudwaras and churches threw open their doors for stranded Mumbaikars as well as those stuck at home without supplies, arranging for food and water
“Whatsapp has helped many people contact us. As many as 4,000 people have been able to get in touch due to these forwards,” Subhash Pai of the G.S.B Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Committee, which distributed food and water in Matunga, Sion, Dadar and Wadala, said.
Community meals
Manpreet Singh Khalsa of the Sion Gurudwara added, “We have prepared langar (community meals) for more than 5,000 people. Around 100 volunteers are packing and distributing food near Sion hospital, Sion station and Dadar station. Within just three hours of reaching out on social media, we’ve received 1,500 calls. We will function round the clock.”
People also set up help centres in their localities and housing societies.
