Will win fight against virus, say residents of Patparganj
NEW DELHI: On March 25 around 9pm, the empty streets outside the gated apartment complexes in east Delhi’s IP Extension — which houses a cluster of highrise societies — were overwhelmed by scores of migrant workers, many carrying suitcases, backpacks and their children, walking out of the nearby IP Extension industrial area.
Those whose apartments faced the National Highway witnessed this exodus on a much greater scale. They say they saw myriad workers spread across the eightlane highway, metres away from where they live, walking away from the national Capital.
It wasn’t until that moment that the residents realised the seriousness of the pandemic.
Many claimed it was difficult to fathom that the narrow lanes of the industrial area, which is barely a few kilometres away, could house so many workers and their families.
“I did not even know why so many people were out on the streets that night. It was only the next morning that I came to know they were leaving to go to their home towns. It really hit us hard. While we can afford to stay in with our families, these people were aiming to walk hundreds of kilometres just to get home,” said Brij Mohan, a social worker living in the area.
Ever since the lockdown was announced, many residents of this middle-class neighbourhood, also known as Patparganj, have come out to help their less privileged neighbours. Developed in the 1990s, IP Extension has over two dozen housing societies and multi-storey apartments.
Many of these complexes were marked by the government for retired civil servants, university teachers and journalists. Some residents are distributing food packets, others are sending across groceries, soaps and hand sanitisers. “Every morning, one of us cooks some extra food and delivers it to Patparganj Village. As social distancing is important, and we do not want to risk mixing in a crowd while distributing the meals, we drop them at a local grocery store and someone from there goes door-to-door to distribute the food packets,” said Swati Sood, a resident of Sahyadri Apartments.
A group of residents are in touch with local municipalities to ensure cleanliness along the cramped lanes of Patparganj Village and in the industrial area.
“These lanes are very dirty. Even if one does not have any disease, they will fall ill if they live here for long. We tried to get municipal officials to help us but that did not happen for days. A few days ago, we got help from a residents’ group and got the area sanitised,” said Tarikh Ali, the pradhan of street number eight, Patparganj Village.
Ali said people here, irrespective of financial background, are now working together to ensure that the area is safe from the spread of the coronavirus.
“Disease does not discriminate in financial strata. Over the last week, though everyone is maintaining the lockdown guidelines, we have come closer as a community. We have got tremendous support, financially as well as in resources, from resident groups of neighbouring colonies. This fight will have to be won together,” Ali said.
Many resident welfare associations (RWA) of these gated neighbourhoods have also sent out circulars to residents urging them to buy their vegetables and groceries from local vendors to ensure their business is not hit in these tough times. Rohit Maan, president, RWA of Shri Sai Apartments, said they have roped in two local vegetable and fruit vendors who set up shop at the colony gate every day. He said residents of each block in the complex have been given a specific window to come out for purchases, to ensure there is no crowding.
“We have provided masks and sanitisers to vendors to ensure the health of residents here is not affected. However, at the same time, instead of calling for home deliveries from online services, you will do good if you buy groceries from the people who actually need the money,” Maan said.
He said they are also working to ensure residents do not have to step out repeatedly.
“For groceries, residents can call us with their shopping list and we make a collective order every alternative day with a local grocer,” he said.
“There are many retired people living in these colonies and even a single person’s mistake can put lives at risk,” said Sarita Iyer, a member of the East Delhi Residents’ Association.