AU student leaders leading sanitisation mission in villages
PRAYAGRAJ : A group of student leaders of Allahabad University (AU) has joined the fight against the pandemic with an aim to stop its spread to the rural hinterland of Prayagraj district. Working with small groups of friends, they have independently launched a sanitisation drive in the district’s villages using their own resources.
One such student leader is Adil Hamza who was vice-president of AU students’ union (AUSU) in 2017. Hamza and his team of five friends are busy these days sanitising different market areas, temples, households of trans-Ganga area of the district.
Spraying 2,000 litres of disinfectant on a daily basis, these youngsters are doing every bit in trying to contain the pandemic in the rural areas of the district.
The day starts early for Hamza and his friends who have hired a vehicle and purchased a sanitisation machine which has a capacity to hold 1000 litres of disinfectant. As Hamza stays in Kareli locality, he has to travel around 30 kilometres every day to reach the rural areas of transGanga region, mainly Phaphamau block. For the past one week since the reports came in that the rural areas of the districts are getting infected by the virus, Hamza and his friends, including Mahesh, Rohit, Mubasheer, Anwar among others are carrying out the sanitisation of households, markets, temples and community places .
“For me, it is the rural areas which need to be kept safe from the virus as we all know that rural areas of the country are not that well-equipped in terms of medical facilities as compared to the urban areas. Moreover, the village folks are also less aware of taking necessary precautions and steps to keep themselves safe from the coronavirus, said
Hamza. So, our work also includes making people aware of the pandemic and how to minimise its spread, he adds sharing the funds comes in form of help from family, friends and citizens impressed by their work.
As the team reaches rural areas, the vehicle moves at a slow pace and a long pipe and nozzle make sure that the target place is completely sanitised. The team carries out the sanitisation drive for two hours twice a day.
Equally important is the work being done by Shivam Singh, the former general secretary of AUSU. After sanitising hospital premises and surroundings near AU’s main campus, he has decided to move towards the rural belts of the district.
“A lot needs to be done for rural folks. Although I am not that well-equipped with a big sanitisation machine, but the team of my friends and I carry a small sanitisation machine on our backs having 18 litres of capacity and undertake target sanitisation of households. We are undertaking the exercise using our own resources,” said Shivam.
For me, it is the rural areas which need to be kept safe from the virus as we all know that rural areas are not that wellequipped in terms of medical facilities as compared to the urban areas
ADIL HAMZA, student leader