Two doctors in West Bengal have driven hundreds of kilometres to help out labourers who came back from other states before the 21-day countrywide lockdown was announced to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Dr Masuda Khatun and Dr Abdul Aziz from Kolkata distributed masks, hand sanitizer and food items among the labourers in Murshidabad district, 250km away from the state capital.
Dr Khatun and Dr Aziz on Friday visited the Lalgola community block in Murshidabad district, which is a source of skilled and unskilled workforce for several states and happens to be one of the most backward areas in the state.
Most of the locals, who go to Maharashtra and Kerala in search of work, have returned from these states recently. They have been asked to stay at home and observe if they are showing signs of Covid-19, the coronavirus disease.
However, with no wages, they neither have enough food nor the resource to buy masks or hand sanitizer.
“We are aware that the virus is spreading very fast. But these poor people don’t have the money to buy hand sanitiser and mask. Also, neither is available in the market because of panic buying and short supply,” Dr Aziz said.
“We have arranged these for more than 10,000 people. The distribution started on Friday. We have planned to get the job done in four days,” he added.
Enamul Haque, a member of a local charitable trust that arranged the distribution, said they have also got rice and pulses for the labourers.
“We are maintaining social distance while distributing the items. Eight vehicles are carrying these from one location to the next,” Haque said.
Rahim Sheikh, a resident of Ramchandrapur village, said, “We did not get hand sanitiser and mask in local medicine shops. This is a great initiative to help poor people.”
Hundreds of thousands of other migrant labourers, caught in the middle of the lockdown with no work and no way to travel home, have been walking hundreds of kilometres to go back to their villages.
The countrywide restrictions announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a complete halt of all public transport, including trains and interstate buses, came into effect on Wednesday.
