Over the last 40-plus days, the Mysuru City Traffic Police played the role of Good Samaritan, identifying a large number of distressed people in need of food and shelter, and extending aid to them, sourcing essentials from donors during the COVID-19 crisis.
Homeless people, daily wagers and migrant workers who bore the brunt of the lockdown benefited from the police action.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sandesh Kumar said the police had the major task of enforcing the lockdown for combating the pandemic. “At the same time, our staff rose to the occasion and reached food to the hungry.”
“With the support of Anweshana Seva Trust, an NGO founded by one Amarnathraje Urs, which used to give 500 food packets to us daily for distribution, and other philanthropists, we distributed food packets to the homeless, migrant labourers and others. We used to keep some packets, snacks like biscuits, bread and water bottles in our vehicles while patrolling the roads, to feed the street children,” Mr. Kumar said.
The trust members handed over ration kits to over 100 needy families from Ramabainagar, Hullinabeedi, Chamundipuram, Kuvempunagar and Vidyaranyapuram localities recently, according to the ACP.
Though the lockdown curbs had been eased now, the NGOs have continued to supply cooked food. “The police rescued workers from Rajasthan, Maharashtra and other States stranded in the city and provided them shelter in choultries. The kind-hearted people used to call us and we acted as the means to reach out aid on their behalf. Our men have also distributed sanitizers, dry ration and soap.”
The police had also received calls from some who wanted to donate PPE kits. Such persons were directed to the health authorities. Not all the migrants rescued by the police have returned to their respective States; many continue to stay at the shelters where food is served, the police said.
