By: Yash Kumar Singhal
The Novel Coronavirus caught the world by surprise.
It has already claimed more than 2000 lives in India but that’s not all.
In an effort to control the spread of the virus, partial or complete lockdowns have been enforced in all parts of the country. In a sort of domino effect, the closing down of organisations has caused as big an impact as the virus itself.
As big organisations shut down, daily wage workers are left without a source of income. And with no wealth to fall back on, those most vulnerable are forced to turn to the streets. Common places where people could take shelter are shutting down. Those who used to survive by begging for alms in traffic jams, now starve and suffer on empty roads. Even when things were better, many labourers shared small homes dividing the space between day and night. Now they either stay together, cramped for space, or spend the night under the open sky, but it’s not nearly as pleasant as it sounds. To avoid overcrowding and risk of infection, many shelters have closed their doors to any new people. Without access to proper sanitation and shelter, these people are even more prone to catching the virus.
Because of the haste and panic of self-quarantine or working from home, we forgot about those who don’t have a home.
A study by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, there are currently 4,246 homeless people in the city. As night approaches, these people seek refuge in bus stations, under flyovers or on the pavements. Most of them are migrants, who came to the ‘Big City’ hoping for better income and lifestyle, only to be categorised as unskilled labour.
With most NGOs partially or completely out of the picture, these people are suffering more than ever.
These men and women lie on hard concrete shivering in Bangalore’s brisk winds. Their children unprotected from the cold or the rain. While all of us are practising social distancing, they are huddling for warmth.
For just two girls, providing blankets to thousands of people is a herculean feat, to say the least. The cost of the cloth and thread alone would be enormous. However, if several individuals came together and gave a few 6 X 6 inch squares of cloth each, the cost and the labour would be shared among all the volunteers. The people of India could come together to stitch blankets for those in need: one square at a time.
A stitch in time saves lives.
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