Hyderabad: Cyclists help senior citizens with medicines, essentials

HYDERABAD: After Bengaluru cyclists, the Cyclists Community of Hyderabad is coming to the rescue of senior citizens living alone in the city by helping them get medicines and other essentials.
Right now, a group of over 60 volunteers is running errands for elderly people, who are unable to move around, and the number of volunteers is said to be on the rise.
“Taking inspiration from Bengaluru, we have decided to start relief riders to help the elderly. We have cyclists across the city and we try to complete the delivery within 30 minutes after receiving the request,” said Santhana Selvan, bicycle mayor of Hyderabad. adding that the team is growing in number with every passing minute and soon they would have about 150-200 volunteers.
The team said that it takes requests between 6 am and 10 am and makes deliveries by following all government protocols, restrictions, and all safety measures.
On average, a cyclist is able to take three to four requests per day, they said and added that almost all the cyclists, who are acting as volunteers are working in IT companies in the city.
“I received a request from a diabetes patient today for tablets from Balanagar. I went to a medical shop and got the elderly man to talk to the pharmacist so that I won’t get the medicine wrong. As I felt that the person is not financially well off, I have sponsored the tablets,” said Ravi Sambari, a cyclist. He said that he resides in Miyapur and would be able to get medicines for the elderly living within 5 km radius from his residence.
Explaining how the team is functioning, Selvan said that when a request is received, it is posted in their internal group, is picked up by the nearest cyclist and the task is completed in the shortest possible time or as per the convenience of the elderly person who made the request.
They said that the services are only for those who are not in a position to step out of their houses.
Another cyclist, Rahul Soni, said that he delivered a couple of injections to a 75-year-old in Hafeezpet on Saturday.