THE EXPONENTIAL SPREAD OF COVID-19

HUNGER
Photographs by Bandeep Singh

A CRY FOR HELP

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Dear Friends,
We are an informal group (of professors, doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, bureaucrats, students,
businesspeople, salaried employees, social workers, sportspeople, mountaineers etc.) called ‘Sopan’. We came
together in February this year with a common aim of conceptualizing, building and running a school for ensuring
all-round development and alternate education for underprivileged children across Bengal and laying the steps
(Sopan) for them to climb up in society
The crisis of COVID-19 struck even before we could even register ourselves. Given the prevailing situation across
the state (and country), we had to put our ambitious dreams on the backburner, and marshal all available
resources and capacity to try and reach out to the less fortunate

Door-to-door food distribution, Barasat, 8th April, 2020

Since 31st of March, we have been trying to lend as many hands as possible to those who are under-equipped to
deal with this crisis. As page no. 3 would elaborate, in this time, most of our efforts have been confined to
arranging one of the most basic human needs – food
Migrant, agricultural, brick-kiln, tea-estate workers
and their families, slum dwellers without ration
cards, villages cut-off from existing supply chains or
where government help has not yet reached,
pavement dwellers, the homeless on the streets and
stations and many more are right now struggling to
acquire food to feed their children and themselves.
And, as we are getting ourselves deeper in the crisis, we are
Cooked food being served, Brick kiln, Ranaghat, 16th April, 2020
realizing that the situation is getting worse by the day

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 Collaborating with other organizations, Teesta Tea Valley Garden, 11th April Safe distribution of food, Ranaghat, 12th April, 2020

Thankfully, our group has members (geographically)

spread quite extensively across the state, and, locally,
we are being able to reach out to a lot of people in need.
Also, we are not the only ones. Hence, we are also
able to collaborate with a lot of other groups,
and organizations and individuals, who have
taken to the street to try and assuage the hunger
of the young and the distressed. Wherever
possible, we are trying to take help of the
administration, meet the immediate need and
Food distribution with WB Police, Gobindapur, 12th April, 2020 buy them some time, before help can be formally
arranged
In addition to arranging food, some of our members who
have access to university and college labs, have been
procuring Isopropyl Ethanol and synthesizing hand
sanitizers – we have been distributing them to the
members of police on the frontline, as they too are often
working without the basic safety kits. We are trying to
get in touch with people who are making masks for
distribution. We have also started to distribute seeds
(mainly of different types of ‘Saag’) that can be planted
and grown within 15 days for consumption, to try and Sanitizers distributed to Bidhannagar Police, 8th April, 2020

find alternate ways of ensuring food availability

As the detailed list, on page 6, will show, till date we have been able
to arrange food (mostly, rice and potatoes for carbohydrate, daal and
soybean for protein, a bar of soap and a couple of packets of biscuit) for
an average of 5 days for about 11300 people across 50 different
areas. For this we have raised and spent nearly Rs. 3.8 Lacs. For some
of us, it comes as a big surprise that it takes only Rs. 30-40 to arrange
the minimum
requirement of
food for a
Seed distribution, Chaital, Minakha, 13th April, 2020
person to
survive 4-5 days. For many of us, who have casually paid
Rs. 5000 for an evening’s dinner during normal times,
suddenly, the equation is quite overwhelming

Food procured for distribution, Pylen, Kheyadah, 2nd April, 2020

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 Packing for safe distribution, 11th April, 2020 Food packed for safe distribution, Sundarban, 12th April, 2020

This effort involves ensuring and repeating a sequence of raising funds, finding out about people in
distress, doing a minimal verification, buying food, packing them for safe distribution, and being
physically present with local representatives for distribution to ensure health and safety requirements.
Apart from that, manufacturing sanitizers and seed distribution, reaching medicines to the elderly have their
own complexities. Each and every piece of this job is equally important and cannot be compromised. Even then,
the starting point of raising funds takes natural precedence over the rest
We can appeal to you based only on trust. In the absence of a registered account, we are using that of Sundarban
Foundation and Vivekananda Scout Group. In case of Sundarban Foundation, we can also ensure tax
benefits for any donation that you can make or arrange from your friends and family. Instead, or, in addition, you
can also choose to be part of any of the steps described above. We promise to share the details of funds
raised and utilized from time to time, so that you can be confident that what you contribute is getting
utilized in the right way and for the right purpose
Till now, the fund raising has been limited to members of ‘Sopan’ and their close family members and friends.
Given the need to repeat the efforts for the people we have been able to help so far and the growing list of people
seeking help, we are having to try and reach out to a wider audience.
The war against the virus is being fought across many fronts. Hunger is definitely one of them. Unlike wars that
are fought on the battlefield, there will be no clear winners or losers, only survivors. Can we take everybody
along?

Sopan

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 MAKE A DONATION

If you wish to make a donation, please transfer to any of the following accounts

Name of account: Sundarban Foundation

(Transfer here if you wish to avail tax deduction under section 80G)
Account no.: 201001324717
IFSC code: INDB0000963
Bank name: Indusind Bank
Branch: GC Avenue, Kolkata

Name of account: Swami Vivekananda Scout Group

Account no.: 30027235848
IFSC Code: SBIN0006867
Bank name: State Bank of India
Branch: Taki
---
For donations through Paytm or Google Pay or PhonePe
Dr. Projjwal Sarkar – 9126579866

For donations through Paypal

paypal.me/Sopanrelieffund
Krishnendu Banerjee
crisban2k@yahoo.com
8826791702

Please note:
If you decide to make a donation, please send a screenshot of it, along with your name and email id
to any of the numbers below on Whatsapp. Since Vivekananda Scout Group is a very small NGO, limited to
organizing only a couple of events during the year, we are maintaining a meticulous track of funds, to
avoid tax issues later
---
For any other queries or communications:
Sopan2u2020@gmail.com
Dipak Kumar Basu - 8001901320
Dr. Aniruddha Gangopdhyay - 9433112555
Dr. Prasanta Kumar Biswas - 7003747965
Arunava Patra - 8961019767
Dr. Sourav Basu - 9831642560
Dr. Projjwal Sarkar - 9126579866
(You can also communicate through Whatsapp on the above numbers)
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 A DETAILED LIST OF ACTIVITIES SO FAR
No. of No. of
Date Place Days In association with With the help of
familiy heads
03.04.2020 Mandermoni 1 5 7
Kheyadah Panchyat, Sonarpur PS 50 210 5 Local people
04.04.2020 Shibati, Sangrampur 80 325 5 Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
Barasat station 25 102 5 Barasart oxygen charitable trust
Patuli slum area 10 40 5 Local people
Shibati,Sangrampur 19 80 5 Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
05.04.2020
Kolapota, Sangrampur 14 60 5 Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
Barasat station 25 110 1 Barasart oxygen charitable trust
Merudandi canal slam area 71 250 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Gacha Das para, Sangrampur 26 110 5 Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
06.04.2020
Bali island, Sundarban (Specially for tiger
50 146 5 Sundarban Foundtion
widows)
Different slum area of Sangrampur 55 200 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Different places of Basirhat town area 5 20 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
07.04.2020
Bamungachi 20 75 7 Local people
Patuli slum area 20 82 5 Local people
Saltlake slum area 50 170 5 Biddhanagar Police
Brickfield of Parshemari, Minakhan 25 95 5 Local people
Different places of Basirhat town area 35 130 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
08.04.2020 Shibati, Sangrampur 42 80 5 Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
Bamungachi 10 42 7 Local people
Medicine distribution at Bamungachi for old
Local people
people
Brickfield of Parshemari, Minakhan 25 102 5 Local people
Different places of Basirhat town area 34 130 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Different slum area of Sangrampur 25 105 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Bamungachi 12 40 7 Local people
Medicine distribution at Bamungachi for old
09.04.2020 Local people
people
Garia station road 11 45 5 Local people
Different tea gardens of North Bengal
(Bagracoat, Chilaune,Hantapara, 54 182 15 Cha Bagan Sangram Samiti
Gorubathan)
Gacha Das Para, Sangrampur 53 200 5 Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
10.04.2020 Different places of Basirhat town area 28 110 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Different slum areas of Sangrampur 20 75 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Different places of Basirhat town area 36 120 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Rajnagar, Hasnabad 5 25 5 Local people
11.04.2020
Patuli slum area 86 355 5 Local people
Gacha Das para, Sangrampur 18 85 5 Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
Gobindapur, Sonarpur PS 325 1350 5 Local people
Patuli slum area 80 310 5 Local people
12.04.2020 Red Cross society Hasnabad unit, Senior
Hasnabad Refuge colony 30 100 3 Swami Vivekananda Scout Group
citizen welfare association
Different places of Basirhat town area 47 155 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Patuli slum area 100 420 5 Local people
Bali island, Sundarban (Specially for tiger
50 145 5 Sundarban Foundtion
13.04.2020 widows)
Seeds distribution at Bali Island, Sundarban
Different places of Basirhat town area 4 12 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Different Brickfield of Ranaghat (Cooking
90 Manobik Ranaghat
food Distribution Specially for Children))
Different places of Basirhat town area 25 93 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
14.04.2020 Patuli slum area 20 85 5 Local people
Seeds distribution at Malancho area Local people

Distribution of soap at Bali Island, Sundarban 300 Sundarban Foundtion

Dankuni refuge colony 500 2400 5 Hooghly district PS
Pifa Bajar 25 92 5 Bharat scouts & guides
Basirhat Red light area 15 35 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Different Brickfield of Ranaghat (Cooking
90 Manobik Ranaghat
food Distribution Specially for Children))
Different places of Basirhat town area 10 43 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Medicine distribution at Harishpur for old
Local people
15.04.2020 people
Medicine distribution at Purba Medinipur for old people Local people
Seeds distribution at Purba Minakha Local people
Different village of Sangrampur 32 125 5 Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
Medicine distribution at different village of
Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
Sangrampur 32
Food & milk distribution at Sangrampur (for
Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
children) 5
Patuli slum area 185 705 5 Local people
Different villages of Sangrampur 85 342 5 Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
Seeds distribution at different places of
Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
Sangrampur 63
Food & milk distribution at Sangrampur (for
Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
children) 5
16.04.2020
Tollygunge (Assam people) 9
Different places of Basirhat town area 6 25 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Seeds distribution at different places of
Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Basirhat town area 6 25 5
Different Brickfield of Ranaghat (Cooking
90 Manobik Ranaghat
food Distribution Specially for Children))
Different places of Basirhat town area 15 58 5 Alumni Association Basirhat High School Basirhat Sujan Swajan
Madhyamgram (Bihar people) 12 40
Different village of Sangrampur 35 118 5 Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
Seeds distribution at different village of
Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
Sangrampur 35
Food & milk distribution at Sangrampur (for
Kalapota Youth Social Works Academy
children) 5
17.04.2020 Different Brickfield of Ranaghat (Cooking
90 Manobik Ranaghat
food Distribution Specially for Children))
Patuli slum area 5 22 5 Local people
Dasnagar, Howrah 35 125 5 Local people
Ayoddha Pakhi Pahar, Purulia 50 205 Local people
Khairabara Dam, Purulia 15 52 5 Local people
Madhyampur 14 5 Local people
Medicine distribution at Bagati Local people

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