Meet India’s lockdown heroes | India News

A man who keeps his ration shop open, a young sarpanch who guards her village, a woman in Bengaluru who ensures her customers get their daily supply of milk, a businessman who feeds stray animals, electrical linesmen who ensure uninterrupted power — these are some of India’s many heroes who are taking risks in these trying times and doing their bit to keep their customers comfortable in times of lockdown.NO RATIONING ON COMPASSION AT THIS DELHI STOREClad in jeans and a sky-blue shirt, his face hidden behind a surgical mask, Saurabh Gupta pulled up shop shutters at 9am. The first thing he does is to stand an empty cola bottle filled with hand sanitiser on a stool outside the outlet. He is nervous about the novel coronavirus that has overwhelmed the entire globe, but resolutely draws circles around a metre from each other outside his fair price shop in Basant Enclave in south Delhi's Vasant Vihar.The 34-year-old then settles down to work for 10 hours at the shop. He is at risk, he knows, but his thoughts are more about the domestic workers, sanitation staff, daily-wage earners and the other poor who need him. Especially at this time of a nationwide lockdown, many in the unorganised sectors, such as auto drivers, have little money to spare and rely on the wheat (Rs 2/kg) and rice (Rs 3/ kg) that Gupta doles out. medium74912378 It's nearing the month-end, so there aren't too many people lining up. And not all of them wear masks. Gupta shouts out to them to stand in the circles he has drawn to ensure they are at the recommended distance from each other. When some ignore the cola bottle of sanitiser while approaching the counter, he cries, "Please sanitise your hands properly. It is not only for your safety, but also of the whole world." He picks up the ration cards gingerly and tries to avoid touching his face until he can rub his hands with sanitiser.When a PDS beneficiary steps up to sign the name or make a thumb impression to indicate receipt of rations, Gupta feels he is walking a tightrope. "I can't help but get close to the people at this juncture," he said. Infection will put the lives of four people in jeopardy: his aged parents, two-year-old daughter and his wife.The family lives in a one-bedroom house so there's no way Gupta can isolate himself. Knowing the risks, his parents tried to dissuade him from working during the lockdown, but Gupta stoutly argued, "Helping the poor get food at this time of crisis is more important than my life." Recently, an elderly man wept in gratitude to see Gupta keeping his outlet shop. "I also turned emotional. This is what keeps me going," said the lockdown hero. medium74908096In the beginning of April, the ration shop will witness regular crowding as PDS beneficiaries come to collect their monthly ration. In view of the corona crisis, the Delhi government has directed that provisions be given for free. "Since I will ask the people to maintain proper distance between them, the queue might be 2km long," Gupta smiled. If only the government, he sighed, provided us with free masks and hand sanitisers!WORKING ODD HOURS, FOR BENGALUREANS TO GET THEIR CUPPA ON TIMEStray dogs that go bonkers at the slightest sound of a vehicle do not seem to mind a blue Honda Activa that moves towards an apartment complex on 16th Cross, Hoysala Nagar, east Bengaluru.Their tails wag once Sathyavani Tulasiraman, 30, gets off the scooter and lugs a sack of 50 milk packets effortlessly into the lift. She goes up to the first floor. It's 2.30am.Two hours later, Sathya as she is fondly called, is in front of the famed Anjaneya temple in the neighbourhood with her various trays of milk and curd. There is a nip in the air, but Sathya has a sweater on and a scarf covers her face. It's her protective gear against the virus. medium74908153 Sathya remains one of the lifelines of the locality — among the thousands of Bengaluru's lockdown heroes, who stretch every sinew to ensure essentials are delivered to residents' doorstep to avoid violating social curbs."These are hard times now. Plus there is the fear of contracting the virus. I always keep my face covered and try and maintain a distance. Several apartments do not allow us to come inside. We leave the milk packets with the security," she says"There are people who are kind and understanding. There is this doctor who paid me in advance. She also asks people not to crowd around and to keep a distance to ensure I'm protected. There are other customers who message me asking me to take care. Such small acts are heartwarming for what is otherwise considered a thankless job," she says.A YOUNG SARPANCH IN TELANGANA SHOWS WAY IN FIGHTING VIRUSA 23-year-old young woman sarpanch of Madanapuram village in Nalgonda district has been taking rounds of her village to ensure that people stay home during the 21-day lockdown.During the first few days of the lockdown, Akhila Yadav, a BSc graduate and sarpanch of the village stood outside her village holding a stick to stop people from entering it without a valid reason. "Earlier, people were not taking the lockdown seriously, I saw people from other villages travelling here for no valid reason. So I sat at the entrance of the village and put up barricades. I would ask them the reason for roaming outside and entering the village if they have a genuine reason, they were allowed to enter. Or else I would ask them to go back," said Akhila. medium74908348 She would stand at the entrance from morning till afternoon. After a break, she would again stand there, till the curfew hour. After the restrictions on people's movement were tightened, she removed the barricades, but has been regularly taking rounds of the village to ensure people stay home during the lockdown period. medium74910652She has also been asking villagers to take an alternative road while venturing out to buy essentials. Yadav has been going door-to-door to educate villagers on ways to protect themselves and symptoms of Covid-19, "It is important they know about the symptoms. There are around 1,600 people in the village, and we have distributed around 2,000 masks here. But there is a shortage of hand sanitisers," she said.JAIPUR BUSINESSMAN WHO FEEDS STRAYSFifty-five-year-old Sanjiv Sankhla used to spend time with animals on a daily basis. Feeding the strays was part of his daily routine. However, what was a 20-minute activity has now expanded into a dedicated few hours to feed the stray animals during the ongoing lockdown.An exporter, whose own business has been affected by the lockdown, Sankhla is busy mapping closed thadis (roadside stalls), eateries and waste points in the city in his pick-up van stocked with fodder, biscuits and medicines for stray animals. Sankhla goes from area to area to feed the stray dogs, cats, cows, bulls and pigs that come his way. medium74910468 Ever since he received a permit from the city administration to carry out his distribution work on March 25, he and his team feed stray animals at 45 points in the city. "It is good that the government has made all arrangements for humans, and it is our duty to help the stray animals in any way we can," said Sankhla, whose voluntary work has doubled ever since people were confined indoors.Every morning, he gets fodder from the nearby villages for cows and buffaloes, while for cats and dogs, the challenge remains as meat shops are closed. They have to depend on branded food, which comes with a cost. "However, a lot of relatives, friends and even strangers have voluntarily came forward with donations," he added.Sankhla ensures his team members take all necessary precautions against Covid-19. "Our families have been very supportive. My elderly parents, teen daughter and wife wait for me to tell them about the day's work every evening and also spread the word on our work," he said.What Sankhla finds a concern is that many people, even educated ones, believe that their pets or stray animals pose a threat. "I have lost count of people who call me to ask what they should do to ensure they don't catch Covid-19 from their pets or animals. Animals are not carriers and the lockdown should not be a reason to mistreat them," he said.THEY ENSURE MUMBAIKARS HAVE POWER TO ‘WORK-FROM-HOME’ While many of his fellow natives have returned to their village over the last few days, electrical linesman Baburao Sable (36) has chosen to remain in Mumbai. He has told his aged mother who is in their village in Jalna district not to keep urging him to come home. These days, he works for 12 hours instead of the regular 8-hour shift so that the metro region gets uninterrupted power supply during the lockdown.Sable is among 30,000 technical staff, power engineers and grid managers of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd (MSEDCL ) on field to light up nearly 2 crore homes in the state so that you have appliances. TV, internet working. medium74910542"The kids and my wife are concerned about me. But I will report for duty daily...," says Sable while heading for his 8am shift on Sunday.He has to report to fix an urgent fuse-related issue at a housing complex in CBD Belapur. And then, there is digging and checking of cables in Nerul among other duties. "We have to keep tabs on all connections and, going by the current scenario, we cannot be complacent," he says."Every person on duty has to wear masks, use sanitisers and wash hands frequently. We carry hand wash, soaps and sanitisers...," he says.The complaints keep pouring in since early morning, and the MSEDCL control room forwards a few messages to Sable who has 13 years of experience in checking for cable faults, inspecting sub-station pillars and other electrical installations for any kind of tripping.Executive engineer Sinhaji Gaikwad who is in regular touch with Sable says that the linesmen in khaki are true lockdown heroes. "They, along with the engineers, are the backbone of our system. The MSEDCL presently has a good backup, and so, if a field engineer or a linesman is absent, we have a standby. The work will go on uninterrupted," he says. Most engineers have stopped using government vehicles, and instead sanitise their own cars and bikes before arriving on the field. "We need to be extra careful. If one of us gets infected, the entire team with which we are working in any division needs to be quarantined. We cannot take any chances," Sable said.As for Sable, he says he is more than happy going about doing his job. "When I come back home after a day's hard work, the smiles on the faces of my children and wife and the home food completely de-stresses me. It prepares me for yet another day in the line of duty," he says.Inputs from Alok Mishra, Shoeb Khan, Somit Sen, Shruthi Susan Ullas, Aditi Mallick Untitled Carousel 74646902