More on Covid-19

LUCKNOW: The doorstep delivery of essential goods, as announced by the Yogi Adityanath government, may not have manifested itself on the ground yet, but several individuals are now doing their bit to help the lesser fortunate.People have started reaching out to each other on the social media with help.Some residents of high-rise apartments in the state capital, have formed WhatsApp groups and one person collects the shopping list of others and then goes out to buy the commodities.Senior citizens in these buildings, in particular, are being taken care of in this manner."By doing this, we make sure that only one person goes out shopping from the building instead of everyone going out. Since majority of the domestic servants have stopped coming to work, we are taking turns to help the senior residents with cleaning and cooking," said Madhuri Arora , one such resident.Naeem Siddiqui, a Congress leader and a prominent builder of the state capital, has purchased 4,000 kilograms of rice, 1,000 kilograms each of arhar and urad pulses and 10,000 kilograms of flour.He has posted on Facebook that anyone who knows of any needy person, can inform him and the food grains will be sent to the person.Siddiqui has also asked people to poll in resources in a similar manner in their respective areas to help the poor.Arvind Narain, a senior citizen in Prayagraj, is making packets containing one kilogram of flour, 100 ml of oil, assorted vegetables and 250 grams of pulses."I make 15 packets every day and put them in the car. I go out to different places and distribute them to labourers who have no money and no work. This is all I can do in these times," he said,Ishrat Ali Pappu, a local politician, is distributing food packets to the homeless.Vishal Singh, who runs a free-of-cost kitchen for patients' attendants in the King George's Medical University, has doubled the quantity of food being cooked in the kitchen."We are offering free food to anyone who comes without questioning his background. Feeding the hungry is our aim and we are doing it," he said.In two housing societies, the local residents are having an early dinner and the leftover food is them packed and distributed to the homeless."Even if one 'chappati' is leftover or a fistful of rice, we pack it up and then two residents go out around 9 p.m to distribute the food. We feel this is the least that we can do for the poor in the lockdown," said Ravish Mehrotra , a resident.