The Maharashtra Youth Congress will kick-start a week-long Seva Saptah by distributing over five lakh food packets on June 19, the birthday of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
State Youth Congress chief Satyajeet Tambe said, “Office-bearers and workers will carry out welfare activities to ease the lives of poor and migrant workers amid the worsening novel coronavirus crisis.”
Mr. Tambe said Congress workers will distribute Nyay Kits containing foodgrains and relief material to the needy. “A large segment of the unorganised sector, including daily wage workers, construction labourers, and farmers, do not have the necessary resources to survive. They rely on their daily wages to put food on the table and are on the brink of starvation,” he said.
Mr. Tambe said the lockdown had affected the livelihoods of migrant labourers, forcing them to move from urban centres to their hometowns in rural areas. He said, “Migrant workers who have returned to their home States are facing acute unemployment. The government has increased the funding for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Maharashtra Youth Congress teams will review the issues facing MRNREGS labourers and help the needy people secure job cards to avail of employment benefits.”
To express their gratitude, the party workers will felicitate doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police personnel, essential service providers and government employees who are risking their own lives and fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The State Congress said that the five lakh food packets will be prepared through community kitchens. State Congress president Balasaheb Thorat said the packets will be delivered to the homes of the poor.
Blood donation camps
To tackle the shortage of blood during the COVID-19 crisis, 10,000 bottles of blood will be collected by organising blood donation camps. The party will also distribute raincoats to police personnel and personal protective equipment to doctors and nurses.
A medical camp will be organised for government employees, and they will be given immunity boosters, masks and sanitisers. Five lakh masks made by the women self-help groups will be distributed among the needy in the State.