NGO fills stomachs of those with their back to the wall

Their mornings were spent in front of a closed health clinic surrounded by trash of all kinds. The nights were spent on a bedsheet spread under the flyover in Surathkal.

This had become a routine for the couple, Santosh and Bhavani, who had been stranded in Surathkal for the past 10 days due to the lockdown. The couple from Belagavi were working at a restaurant at Kadiyali in Udupi. Santosh was working as a watchman and Bhavani used to wash dishes. They were paid Rs 18,000 and provided accommodation in the restaurant.

After the lockdown was announced, the restaurant was closed. The couple who had nowhere to go travelled to Dharmasthala in the hope of finding free food and accommodation, but to no avail. The couple decided to return to Udupi by seeking free rides in vehicles passing by.

The couple’s luck ran out and were stranded in Surathkal, 20 km from Mangaluru. That was when local residents gave them a helping hand.

They offered clothes to the couple and helped Bhavani access the Sulabh Shouchalaya toilet.

They are given free breakfast at Apathbandhava Seva Samaja’s makeshift canteen near Suratkal police station for those left to fend for themselves during the lockdown.

Umesh Devadiga of Apathbandhava says a dozen volunteers also deliver breakfast to homes of those who are bedridden.

More than 80 to 100 people are provided food by the NGO.

Devadiga, who works as an autorickshaw driver, started distributing free breakfast and evening snacks from the day the lockdown was implemented.

“Our initiative has been gaining strength with volunteers, organisations lending support by cooking food or by donating money,” he says.