Every time a Shramik Express is ready to leave the railway station here, Gurpreet and his “team” — comprising a teacher, an NGO worker and a Navy trainee among others — ensure that they reach on time with food, water, biscuits, masks and other supplies for the migrant workers and their families returning home.

This has been a routine for Gurpreet, an autorickshaw driver, for almost a month now. Besides, the 46-year-old also transports food in his vehicle to a community centre in Sector 23A twice a day and helps distribute it to over 2,000 people, who gather from nearby slums and regularised colonies.

Gurpreet is the sole breadwinner in a family of five, which includes his elderly parents.

Loan for autorickshaw

He has to pay a monthly loan installment of ₹2,050 for his autorickshaw. However, neither the financial constraint nor the fear of contracting the deadly virus has dampened his spirit.

“This is what we have learnt from our parents, gurus and teachers. Initially, my parents were a little apprehensive about my safety. But I told them that Guru Gobind Singh sacrificed his four sons to protect our religion. We cannot help others if we fear for our own safety,” said Gurpreet, who came to settle in Gurugram’s Ganga Vihar two decades ago with his parents.

As he could not afford to provide food to the needy due to financial constraints, he decided to do his bit by offering to transport the food in his autorickshaw free-of-cost and help distribute it.

It all started when Gurpreet saw some people from NGOs distributing food to the poor at the Sector 23A community centre, but found that they were in need of manpower to transport and distribute it. “I offered to help. Soon, more like-minded people joined us and we became a team of sorts,” said Gurpreet.

However, this act of philanthropy comes with a cost. Gurpreet needs to shell out around ₹7,000 per month for fuel in the times when his income is nil. He said he could do it because of support from his parents, his wife Manpreet Kaur and their son.

Earlier, MCG would provide them food to be distributed, but after it discontinued the service a fortnight ago, Gurpreet and his team now source it from the Red Cross Society and a construction company. Though his area remained designated as a containment zone for over a month, he took special permissions from the district administration to continue to transport and distribute food.

He, however, downplayed the recognition coming his way for his good work with the district administration and others tweeting about him.

“I have been getting phone calls, SMSes and WhatsApp messages after the tweets, and it feels good to be appreciated,” he said.

Rent trouble

But Gurpreet felt the administration could do more for the migrants in terms of providing them food and ensuring that they were not troubled by their landlords for the rent. He also wished more people could come out and help the less privileged ones in these difficult times.