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CORONICLES: I went distributing food in Lucknow. Supplies ran out, but the hungry remained

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Manas Mukul
Manas MukulApr 13, 2020 | 16:56

CORONICLES: I went distributing food in Lucknow. Supplies ran out, but the hungry remained

From lockdown, my city Lucknow has moved to sealing and is struggling for essentials.

As my mother reached out to answer the doorbell, I literally shouted, cautioning her to cover her face. She turned her duppata into a mask.

Soon, she came back in and said that the visitor at the door was a woman who had come asking for food. The woman said she hadn’t had a morsel in the past three days. I had stayed tuned in to news of people going hungry because of the lockdown. I realised our visitor wasn’t a beggar. I reached for her at the door and was told that she had recently lost her husband and had a little boy to care of. Unable to find work due to the lockdown, she had no money to buy food.

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A road in Lucknow after the lockdown was announced. (Photo: Manas Mukul)

I handed her some food and money. Also, I passed on some government helpline numbers she could dial for help.

About a month back, daily wagers were hard at work. Now, they were forced to beg.

World over, about 7 billion people are locked up inside their houses.

On March 10, Lucknow was still busy celebrating Holi, a festival that can’t really be celebrated without people coming in contact with people, when travel advisories had already been issued and people at airports were being screened for temperature and Covid-19 symptoms.

I went out to buy some medicines and noticed that people were still going to the malls, watching movies, and eating out at restaurants with kids and the elderly. Companies, by then, had started extending ‘work from home’ for their employees. Instead of taking it as a safety measure, I saw people playing cricket and badminton in streets with their kids. The general sense was that the virus won’t harm them. They thus treated the break as if summer vacations had arrived early.

The local administration in Lucknow swung into action only after Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor was found infected with the coronavirus, after returning from London. By then, she had already attended parties with political heavyweights. Lucknow is also a major hub for people traveling to the Middle East. Surprisingly, the international airport was still operational with minimal screening despite the threat looming large.

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And then on March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown.

When the news broke, I was out buying weekly groceries. I saw roads suddenly get crowded. Lucknow, being the capital of Uttar Pradesh, is a populated city, but it was getting unusually crowded around 8.30 pm onwards. Not knowing if essential supplies would be available during the 21-day period, panic-stricken people thronged the roads throwing social distancing norms to the wind.

Barely 48 hours into the lockdown, and we began to hear of the mass exodus of migrant labourers from the cities. Some said this was the greatest migration seen since the Partition in 1947.

The images of mass migration that emerged on television and internet were unbelievable and heart-wrenching. I was moved and as the images haunted me while I tried to sleep, I decided to do whatever was within my capacity for those suffering.

Though I had seen the sea of people walking back home, when I saw them on the streets myself, I was shaken. Knowing that I couldn’t be careless because I had to return home to my mother, a senior citizen, I started distributing food and water to people. My friends in Lucknow had helped me put together the supplies for distribution. They also joined me in this effort.

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We did this for four days and at the end of four days, I ran out of supplies to offer the needy, but the hands asking for them did not seem to lessen. This mismanagement that put so many poor people at risk of death, must someday be accounted for.

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The mismanagement that put so many poor at risk of death, must someday be accounted for. (Photo: Manas Mukul)

If the lockdown wasn’t difficult enough, on April 8, a sealing of certain areas of selected cities was announced by the UP government. The move came after a spurt in cases was noticed. A total of 12 hotspots were identified in Lucknow, which meant complete closure of essential services, including milk, groceries and medicine stores in those areas. One can only procure things through an online delivery mechanism, which honestly is non-existent. As of latest April 10, Lucknow was declared a zero-traffic zone. 

We placed an order with a local hypermart, via WhatsApp, as per the instructions from the government. This was placed on Day 2 of the lockdown; today is Day 20 and we are yet to receive the supplies.

My sister, who lives in the UAE, broke down listening to our story. The sense of helplessness was mutual. Our video calls with her are no longer the happy virtual family gatherings they used to be. She often cries in the apprehension that if something untoward happens to us, she won’t be able to even reach us. My mother and I are equally worried for her.

I feel (hope) the world as we knew it would change when we come out of this. Social distancing would be the new normal. Since we are facing this challenge for the first time, none of us know how to fully cope with it.

We do not know how to live with even our partners 24*7 in our houses, with no offices to be attended or no get-togethers with friends serving as escapes. For now, there is no saving myself from the bombardment of questions about marriage. I can’t wait to rush out.

On the bright side though, it can be seen as a break where people are going back to old hobbies, dusting off old guitars and completing the unfinished paintings. The cities are getting cleaner, the water has become less polluted, the air is getting healed and may be the Earth will start breathing again soon.

Till then, we can only stay safe and stay united. And hope that this too shall pass.

Last updated: April 13, 2020 | 17:29
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