SSM Delhi-NCR Serves 295 Families in Ninth Round of Dry Ration Distribution

 

As India’s Coronovirus counts inched towards the million mark and NOIDA imposed a total lockdown for weekends till the end of July, requests for dry rations started coming in to SSM volunteers from different Jhuggi clusters around the area. The team tried to meet all the requests it received by supplementing its own stock with donations in kind from Satsangis, neighbours and friends.

In the sultry monsoon heat, the Delhi-NCR SSM volunteers distributed 295 ration packs over five days from the 6th to the 10th of July depending on the requests received and the donations that came in. One hundred and thirty two ration packs were distributed in Sector 135 and 18 in Sector 94, where most tea sellers and other street vendors who cater to offices in the latter sector stay. The police has asked them not to operate as of now. Another 145 packets were distributed in Jhuggi clusters in three different locations in Sectors 92, 93 and 93b.

Weary, teary-eyed people sat outside police chowkis waiting for the ration bags and profusely thanked SSM for coming to their aid in times of need and assuaging their hunger. The people served were mostly those who had migrated to the city and built better lives for themselves, but saw their dreams being shattered by the pandemic and the lockdown. Most of them were deeply concerned that their children’s education would be disrupted. They said they did not have money to recharge their mobiles for their children to continue their online classes. Others said they had stopped buying milk in order to be able to afford their children’s school fees and books. Still others said they had been asked to vacate their homes since they could no longer afford the rent. The volunteers distributed the packs with a prayer in their hearts that the sufferings of those they served be mitigated.