When an individual gets affected by the Coronavirus, the entire family is quarantined and this gives rise to a plethora of issues. No one can step out. So who will get the groceries or even the basic medications? Here's where the cyclists of Chennai have stepped in. They have built an uber local network of riders who can take orders and supply the basic necessities to not just the COVID positive or quarantined families but to the elderly population of Chennai who are not able to step out in the midst of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Felix John, a businessman and a co-founder of an IT firm, is one of those involved with the project that started on May 3, 2021, and now has more than 90 volunteers. "We are delivering everything from basic medicines to groceries to the people. We try to keep it to a 6 km radius but sometimes our volunteers have also travelled 10 km for a delivery," said Felix. "We wanted to keep it organised and put up posts saying that requests for orders can be made from 6 am to 10 am. But we've been getting calls throughout the day," he added.
But aren't they scared to step out amidst this pandemic? Where do they get the courage? "That's what people have been saying. But the truth is it's not courage. I am still scared. This is a way to fight it while helping others who are helpless," said Felix. "I have my parents and my kids living with me. So I am scared even now. Last year I was too scared to even be part of such an initiative. But this year it has affected people even worse. They need help more than ever," he added.
The team maintains social distancing, sanitises as often as possible and leaves the orders at the doorsteps of the COVID positive patients, said S Sunder, a marketing consultant with a UK firm who is currently working from home and also coordinating the operations. "We have been getting a lot of calls from abroad where they want us to deliver essentials to their parents who are living alone here. I just got a call to deliver medicines to an octogenarian couple. These are basic needs — medicines for diabetes, milk, groceries and so on," he added.
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