Media Release
Mangaluru, Nov 23: A group of socially conscious and road-friendly citizens today have rolled out a donation drive to support people affected by the pandemic. As part of their campaign called the ‘Road Ashram’, the team is travelling along the borders of India, covering nearly 25000 km and 30 states in about 60 days in a specially modified car. The team arrived in Mangaluru on Monday November 23.
The team has travelled along the China and Nepal borders in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They further went to Kolkata where they met some notable organisations and eminent people of the city including the mayor. In Sikkim they met eminent and influencing citizens including soccer star Bhaichung Bhutia. They went to Bhutan border in Jaigaon, West Bengal. Later they travelled to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Sunderban in West Bengal and Orissa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu.
Amidst the medical crisis and the safety measures, there has also been tremendous damage to the social structure wherein innumerable people have lost their jobs, healthcare has become difficult, children have been affected due to lack of immunization and education. The effects range further into increased poverty, instances of early marriages, malnutrition and making of laws in an arbitrary fashion while we are all dealing with this chaotic situation. According to a recent survey, industrial workers lost nearly 5 million jobs after the coronavirus lockdown. Data also suggests that millions of people could slip into poverty by the end of the year.
The purpose of Road Ashram is to bring attention to all these stories of people and ensure that we do not limit ourselves to measuring the impact of the pandemic to the medical crisis. This humanitarian crisis that has surfaced will take much longer and a lot of collective will and effort to resolve and we all will have to keep striving to find our feet back on stable ground.
“As conscious citizens of the country, we cannot just sit and let this happen,” shares Siddhartha Dutta, who is navigating the routes during the trip. “The non-profit sector is doing whatever is possible with the available resources. But it is not enough. These organisations, especially the grassroots level NGOs need immediate support to continue their life saving work. Through Road Ashram campaign, we wish to appeal to everyone to make a generous contribution to the cause.”
Why the name Road Ashram? Ahmer Siddiqui, one of the campaign team members and the driver of Road Ashram, explains, “The idea is to stay on the road – in our very own, personally crafted car, that we have decided to call ‘Road Ashram’. Through our 60 day drive on the kacha-pakka roads on the borders, we wish to raise awareness and resources to help people facing difficulties due to the pandemic. Alongside, we will share videos and stories of India’s diverse cultures, places, and everything else that makes India what it is – a diverse, colourful and fascinating India.”
"We are trying to reach out to the people, as we started from Delhi on October 4 in a specially crafted car. We covered almost 25,000 km and 17 states. Covid was supposed to be a health issue which converted into a humanitarian crisis," said Ahmer Siddique.
The team invites people to follow the campaign through www.roadashram.in and social media channels. Visit their website to know more about the cause and learn more about the epic journey along India’s roads.
www.roadashram.in| howicanhelp@roadashram.in| + 91 9022954832.