By Mangal Prabhat Lodha

Jul 18 (IANS): I had read a story about a child being kidnapped. Police found the child, but there were two mothers claiming the child to be theirs. The issue reached the Court of law. It was a difficult decision for the judge to make. The judge ordered to cut the child into two and distribute to both the claimants. Immediately the real mother screamed and said don't cut the child, I want the child to live. Give the custody to other women. I feel nowadays many NGOs' thought process towards society is similar. Many NGOs are working on the principal that whether they get credit or not, society should be saved from the pandemic.

From the start of the lockdown, many organisations came forward for the help of the society, whether it was setting of a community kitchen for the needy or arranging food for senior citizens staying alone or distributing Ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines to all, these organisations were at the forefront. Many families were provided monthly rations. People made arrangements to help the ill and senior citizens reach a hospital even by personal vehicles in spite of COVID-19 risk. PPE kits were distributed to private doctors. From arranging food for labourers stuck in lockdown to providing food to migrant labourers returning home and giving medical assistance to them, to taking care of senior citizens living alone, all were done by the NGOs. Wherever government machinery was taking time to reach the needy, the society stood up to the survival challenge with the help of these NGOs.

From the last three months under the guidance of Gurudev Shri Rakeshbhai, Shri Rajchandraji Sansthan has been providing three meals per day in all coronavirus centres in Mumbai without a gap of single day. Similarly Jiyo/Jito ran two COVID-19 centres in Mumbai. These services by NGOs have reached lakhs of people in need.

I read about the Dharavi slum of Mumbai being coronavirus free. As the BJP Mumbai president, I was very happy. When the state is in the grip of thepandemic, it is not easy to make such a densely populated area corona-free.

But it should also be noted that many social organisations helped in this effort. Social organisations are fighting shoulder to shoulder with the government against the pandemic. Even common citizens are helping as much as they can. It is the Indian culture to fight the crisis together keeping aside any political differences. This is being followed by the society not only in Mumbai but through out the nation. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has done a stellar work in this area. Lions, Rotary, religious institutions, temples, monasteries are helping as much as they can. I can definitely say that these organisations never work for credit. Even if they do not get credit, their dedication to the society remains the same. Those who know about how the RSS and other organisations have helped the government during natural disasters and terrorist attacks, they will definitely say that they don't do it for credit.

But it was never Maharashtra's political tradition to deny credit and hide the successful efforts of others.

What really happened in Dharavi?

Dharavi is just an example of all the social work done. At the earlier stages of lockdown, there was a lot of confusion in Dharavi. The virus was spreading wildly. To stop the spread of coronavirus, the only solution was to go from house to house screening and reach the last person. There was a lot of stress on administration too. At that time social organisations, including the RSS, came forward and helped the screening efforts standing shoulder to shoulder with the government.

Many doctors of the Niramay Foundation jumped in for they testing campaign. But they needed assistants. So for 51 doctors, 512 RSS workers were roped in. They started the screening campaign as per municipal guidelines.

In just a single day on June 7, more than 10,000 people were screened in Dharavi. I was myself present in Dharavi that day. More than 11,850 people have been screened in Dharavi through RSS efforts.

The scene I saw in Dharavi was emotional. Watching doctors and 'karykartas' in such large number at their doorsteps, overwhelmed Dharavites. At many places doctors and medical teams were welcomed with garlands. They regretted the fact that medical teams could not have tea offered by them due to PPE kits.

Help by many organisations

In Mumbai, many organisations like Jan Kalyan Samiti, Niramaya Foundation, Swami Narayan devotees, Aniruddha Bapu's organisation, Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari's organisation, Pandurang Shastri"s Swadhyay Parivar, Narendra Maharaj sampraday, Rotary, Lions, Shri Rajendraji Sansthan, Jiyo/Jeeto and many Jain organisations took active part in social service. In one month from May 15, "Sevankur" organisation did screening of each house in Nehru Nagar in 'K West' ward. After completion, they went ahead to Bhandup Ghatkopar and Govandi for screening. These volunteers did screening of approximately 1,22,000 citizens in Mumbai's various localities.

Many BJP karyakartas cooked food at their own houses gor the needy and poor. In addition some distributed ration to the needy families. In spite of the risk of getting themselves infected, patients were taken to hospitals in personal vehicles. All this wa done by spending money from their own pockets. In this social service efforts, 30 BJP karykartas succumbed to the coronavirus. Such an incident of political party karykartas losing their lives in large numbers doing social service might have happened for the first time in history. Even then there has been no halt in the service to the society

It is the government's duty to take note of and thank all the social and religious organisations, NGOs involved in the social work during this pandemic crisis. They should be given their due credit. This will increase the credibility of the government and politicians.

We need to learn this from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I definitely know that RSS with the motto, that social service should always be selfless never even thought about credit, but all the organisations should get their due credit. If that happens it will prove to be an important milestone of trust between Government and NGOs in making of our New India.