Social media is generally considered an abused platform where under the guise of anonymity, several users openly resort to spreading hate and malice. Even at a time as critical as this one, when the entire country is foreshadowed in uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people do not seem to abstain, but, thank god for corona ‘warriors’ like Kapil Agarwal, our faith in humanity is still alive.
The state executive member social media and IT at BJP Haryana, Kapil Agarwal, has used the Twitter platform to feed thousands across India. Speaking about his initiative, the Corona Yoddha said: “Since the beginning of the lockdown, efforts are being made to provide ration and food in different areas of Gurugram on the information received through tweets, messages and other means. Till now ration has been provided to about 1000 families and food has been provided to about 500000 people and this work will continue in future”.
मिथुन जी को राशन पहुंचा दिया गया है,
— कपिल अग्रवाल (@Kapilagr26) May 5, 2020
धन्यवाद आपका। @mlkhattar @cmohry @TajinderBagga @yoursdharm https://t.co/Av8KbX0cZd pic.twitter.com/3JQ4EmWINV
When OpIndia got in touch with this ‘warrior’ he said that he started the initiative on March 28, four days after the central government announced the coronavirus lockdown 1.0. Now with the lockdown entering its third phase, Kapil Agarwal, along with his friends continue to reach out to the needy as and when they receive information and extend a helping hand to the marginalised at the time of this crisis.
Ration is been provided. https://t.co/7mvFheHPG1 pic.twitter.com/RH0XcmrTJj
— कपिल अग्रवाल (@Kapilagr26) May 4, 2020
Kapil Agarwal gives a special mention to BJP leader Tajinder Bagga, MP representing Godda constituency, Jharkhand, Nishikant Dubey and Kapil Mishra, who have been helping him reach out to the needy at the time of this pandemic.
राशन उपलब्ध करवाने के लिए धन्यवाद @Kapilagr26 जी https://t.co/6Qawly66L6
— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) May 5, 2020
He said people like Tajinder Bagga and Nishikant Dubey regularly share information about whoever is in need of food or other basic amenities with him, and he then gets in touch with these people and coordinates with his team members to make sure that they reach out to the people in distress as soon as possible.
Agarwal said that they are a group of 12 to 13 people who are using their private vehicles to distribute cooked food as well as ration amidst the Coronavirus lockdown. He said that his team members have been feeding around 7,000 to 10,000 people on a daily basis. He and his friends had initially pitched in their own money to start this initiative but now they have been receiving help from the Haryana government as well, confirmed the BJP Haryana member.
मिथुन जी से बात हो गई है ।सुबह राशन पहुंचा दिया जायेगा ।
— कपिल अग्रवाल (@Kapilagr26) May 4, 2020
धन्यवाद आपका@mlkhattar @cmohry @TajinderBagga @yoursdharm https://t.co/Av8KbWIBAD
माघवी जी से सम्पर्क कर लिया गया है और राशन जल्द ही पहुचा दिया जायेगा।
— कपिल अग्रवाल (@Kapilagr26) May 4, 2020
Cc- @Narendra_nishad https://t.co/zyHEJFRK1A
He confirmed to OpIndia that his team has been covering almost all Gurugram districts and a few more areas nearby like Rewari etc. Kapil Agarwal said that MLA Sudhir Singla has also been relentless in coordinating the distribution of food packets and ration kits and helping his team with funds to help those in need.
Apart from ration and food packets, Kapil Agarwal and his team are also distributing masks, helping people to acquire passes in case of an emergency. All this is being done with the help of MLA Sudhir Singla and his team confirmed Agarwal.
Kapil Agarwal has also shared helpline numbers for the Gurugram district on his Facebook page where people can call and ask for assistance at the time of the crisis.
Though Kapil Agarwal is undoubtedly doing a phenomenal job, he is not the only one working relentlessly at the forefront in extending crucial help to the needy at the time of this pandemic. There are many more people like him who have been reaching out to the remotest corners of the country in order to extend their assistance.
OpIndia had earlier got in touch with a few such other ‘warriors’ so to say who are fighting the good fight: to ensure in such hard times no person goes to sleep on an empty stomach.
Corona ‘warrior’ Tajinder Bagga
One such person has been BJP leader Tajinder Bagga. “I barely sleep as I am spending most of my day coordinating on social media with various people and connecting those who need help to those who could provide. It is a group effort and people from BJP, the Yuva Morcha, the RSS, Art of Living and Patanjali have come out to help,” he says.
At a time when everyone is seeing a one-upmanship, people like Bagga have not let political differences get into the way of humanity. When RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav called for help for the migrant workers in Bihar who were struggling for ration, Bagga coordinated with BJP youth wing to ensure that help is reached.
Corona ‘warrior’ Ankit Jain
Ankit Jain, BJP supporter and social media influencer, has also been relentless in coordinating distribution of food packets and ration kits to those in need. “A lady who lives in an ashram at the Nashik-Aurangabad border and is suffering from terminal illness pinged me that she was low on supply of medicines and oxygen. When she tweeted to me, she had five days of supply. Her medicines were stuck in India Post because of lockdown. We tried out best to reach out to concerned people and we tried to get the medicines delivered to her,” he said.
HAI Board Member Sudhir
Speaking to OpIndia, Humanitarian Aid International (HAI) Board Member Sudhir said that they have started community kitchens in various parts of Delhi and sending out as many as 2,500 food packets daily to those who need them in those areas.
Sewa Bharati, an RSS offshoot
Moreover, Sewa Bharati, an RSS offshoot, has also been working relentlessly, extending a helping hand to the marginalised at the time of this crisis. From distributing food packets to manufacturing masks at war footing and reaching out and distributing at places facing a scarcity to distributing bed sheets and blankets to providing basic medicines, Sewa Bharati cadres have been in the forefront in extending crucial help to the needy at the time of this pandemic.
The organisation has provided different helpline numbers for every state. If a person is in distress or gets stuck in any sort of problem, then he/she can call these numbers and ask for help. People stranded in railway stations and bus stops are being rescued by the Sewa Bharati workers.
In Delhi, the organisation has been distributing over 10000 food packets a day. Almost 5,000 cadres have been feeding 75,000 Delhiites on a daily basis. So far the food they are providing is made out of 45 kitchens spread across Delhi. Once the food packets are ready, their zonal teams distribute among the needy in their area.
Speaking to OpIndia, one of the full-time members of Sewa Bharati, Bhupendra claimed that the kitchen has been set up since March 22 where daily food for 30,000 people is being prepared.
Sewa Bharati volunteers are also serving on the Burma border. Through video conferencing, the officials and volunteers keep in touch with each other to make sure the work goes on smoothly. Special attention is being given to the economically weaker areas.
Apart from all this, Sewa Bharati is also producing domestic masks. Almost 1 lakh masks have been distributed in Jammu alone. The organisation is daily getting more than twelve hundred masks from its three units for distribution among the needy.
And while our fight against the Chinese coronavirus continues, it is people like these who give us hope that we will emerge not only stronger but kinder when the pandemic is a thing of past.
