By Rajkumar Bhavasar

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to a standstill with many of them not even able to get two meals a day or the essential groceries to cook their own food. So has been the cases of many from the labour class, those with no BPL or APL cards, migrant workers and also the transgender community in the city.

Amidst all the struggles, Krishnaraja Constituency MLA S.A. Ramdas has come to the rescue of all these people and has distributed around 173 grocery kits to the people of transgender community.

Apart from this, the MLA has also identified the poor, daily wage labourers and other needy people and has made arrangements to provide them with two meals a day since Mar. 23.

40 volunteers serving 3,500 families 

A ‘COVID Care Team’ has been set up by Ramdas under which around 40 volunteers deliver two meals a day to around 3,500 families in city. A house near Vivekanandanagar Circle has been taken up to prepare meals for these families wherein around 20 cooks have volunteered to prepare food.

Apart from this, the volunteers have identified 1,500 houses in the city whose families have been quarantined and provide them with their daily groceries, medicines and other essential services. These volunteers call up the residents and ask about their welfare on a daily basis. The team also has a Facebook page on which they go live every day and try to deliver necessary items as per the citizens’ requests.

Emergency: Call 0821-4001100 

Those in need of urgent medicines, dialysis or any other medical emergencies may call 

Ph: 0821-4001100 to get transport facilities set up by the Care Team. The team also has two ambulances at its disposal for pregnant women, if need be.

If at all someone needs counselling, they can call the above number between 11 am and 2 pm every day since many may be facing anxiety, depression, etc. amidst the lockdown. Around 33 organisations in city have collaborated with the Care Team that comprises Aasare Foundation, GSS Foundation and Let’s Do It! Mysore among others.

Rs. 10 lakh contribution collected 

“Apart from our everyday services, to create patriotic awareness among the public and to support the PM’s COVID-19 Relief Fund, we have set up an account wherein people can donate as less as Rs. 10 up to Rs. 100 towards the Fund, which is managed by hundreds of COVID-19 Care Team volunteers, relentlessly working day and night. Till date around 60,000 people have come forward and the team has been able to collect around Rs. 10 lakh as contribution. Hope many more come forward and contribute in the days to come,” said MLA S.A. Ramdas.