By Sushmita Dey
Bangalore, January 18: With Bangalore in the grips of the pandemic’s third wave of Covid-19, Relief Rider, a cyclist’s group is back in action to deliver essential products on bicycles to the families, vulnerable sections of the society and the elderly people in the city.
The group started volunteering during the first lockdown in March when someone tweeted, “What are the cyclists in Bengaluru doing?” “I thought it would be a great initiative to help people around the city, '' said Sathya Shankaran, founder of Relief Rider and Bicycle Mayor of Bangalore. Now, we have around 725 riders across 12 cities in the country, he added.
There are about 40 to50 riders in the city. We make sure they are monitoring their health daily, and ensure everything is sanitized before delivering it to the assigned homes. Moreover, at the delivery location, we ensure to make no contact with any of the requesters.
Similarly, Kunal Bohra, Back Office Riders volunteer, said, "People look at cyclists as a problem because we’re slow-moving. And, one of the inspirations behind joining this initiative is that we’re not a part of the problem, we can be the solution.”
When all of the social media and news platforms were swamped with surging case numbers, and lack of facilities, our main goal behind this project was to provide basic necessities to the families who are in dire need of help, he added.
Bohra said, they used to receive 14-15 requests during the second wave to deliver groceries, clothes, medicines, and sometimes home-cooked meals to the families who are in isolation or those people who don’t have anyone to help them out.
Relief Riders have a special Telegram bot where people raise requests for the essentials, which they need. The volunteers then cross-check all the necessary information, and then a ticket is generated, which is assigned to a cyclist who stays nearby and is ready to deliver the goods.
Over the two years, Relief Riders ensure that they are always keeping themselves safe for the families and the society who need help and also face challenges while procuring the medicines as per the request.
Coming as a ray of hope and a much-need dose of relief in such dire times, Shankaran said, “Realising the gravity of the situation during the first and second wave, this time we are all prepared and available for those who need our help.”
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