Mumbai has been experiencing on and off heavy rainfall since July. Last week, the city witnessed intense rain showers and stormy winds for three consecutive days which led to flooding, water logging, tree falls and vehicle and property damages. As the streets were flooded, several people were stranded on the roads. While the official authorities were trying their best to rescue citizens and vehicles, a group of youngsters in South Mumbai decided to lend a helping hand.
A youth group from the D.L. Jain Colony in Chinchpokli took the initiative to provide food and water to the stranded people in the nearby areas till Lalbaug. The youth club has a total of 15 members from the age group of 18 to 40. The situation came to light when Yash Patwari, one of the group member, was on his way back home and saw several vehicles and public buses stuck on both sides of the road due to water logging. He immediately informed his group about the intensity of the situation and they all decided to help with whatever resources they could arrange.
Along with Yash, Smit Chheda, Dhairya Shah, Henna Patwari, Vansh Mehta and Sanskar Patwari decided to step down in the waterlogged areas near their colony and provide aid to the stranded citizens in need. They collected around 200 packets of biscuits, a few other packets of Indian snacks and around 60 bottles of mineral water. The team of six managed to provided help to around more than 150 people in the area. But there were more stranded people in need of help and the team had fallen short on food supplies. Since it was late at night, all the general stores were also shut down.
However, the youngsters did not give up. Instead, half of them decided to head back to their colony to collect more food packets and the remaining half of them ventured around the waterlogged areas to ask what else people needed.
Since the coronavirus pandemic is still prevalent in the city, the team members made sure to follow all the safety protocols while helping people. To avoid any direct contact, they wore masks, gloves and sanitized their hands every few minutes. The stranded citizens were also advised to wear a mask and maintain distance.
This was not the first time that this youth group has carried out such an initiative. The youth group has been active since 2015 and is slowly growing recognition for their humanitarian work. They are known to donate food to the poor from time to time and distribute gifts to children and the elderly at shelter homes during festivals. Recently, the group raised a great quantity of food supplies, clothes and money for people in Sangli who were deeply affected by the floods.
The youth group hosts small entertainment events where people can set up stalls and play games. The profits that they earn out of these events are used to provide aid to the ones in need. Besides this, people living in the D.L Jain Colony are very supportive of the youth group and often donate resources to help them.
The Chinchpokli-based youth group plans to expand its reach across the city by solely focusing on helping people. The group envisions to make change in the society by putting forward the idea of compassion by simply coming forward to lend a helping hand to those in need.
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