Techies’ NGO in Telangana's Rachakonda offers free last rites for COVID-19 victims

HYDERABAD: The life of 39-year-old farmer Popili Shankar changed a few days ago, when he was diagnosed with Covid-19. Despite the financial constraints, his family decided to take him to a private hospital for treatment.

After getting treated for a fortnight at a private hospital in Karimnagar, a few days ago, his family had to move him to KIMS Hospital as Shankar’s condition turned critical. Unfortunately, he lost the battle with Covid-19 in just a few hours. He is survived by his wife and two children. 

“We borrowed money from everywhere, and, in the past few days, we spent almost Rs  6-7 lakh. For his last rites, it was difficult to find an ambulance to transport the body, and the services were costing around Rs  30,000-Rs  40,000. Luckily, we heard of NGO Feed The Needy, which conducts last rites for free. In just an hour, members of the NGO made all the arrangements,” said A Prakash, one of Shankar’s family members. 

The NGO, which launched the free last rites services on July 4, with the help of the Rachakonda police, has helped around 100 families.

Sai Teja, a member of the organisation, said, “We have been volunteering with the police for a long time but soon after the Covid-19 crisis, we have been on our toes. We initially started to help with distributing food, rescuing the homeless and helping find plasma donors. Later, we started to conduct last rites for free.”

All eight members of the group are IT professionals, who volunteer during their free time. They have two ambulances covering Cyberabad, Hyderabad and Rachakonda.