When Suket Dhir, the well known Delhi-based designer, got a call from Sewa Bharati in March when Covid-19 had started spreading its menace in India to spearhead a campaign to help slumdwellers in Delhi to eat two square meals a day, he gave his instant nod.
“Getting that call from Sewa Bharati on March 24 was a God-send opportunity for me. Otherwise I would have been making masks (like other designers),” says an elated Suket.
Sewa bhavna is deeply ingrained in the psyche of Suket Dhir. His father Suman Chandra Dhir, former president of Ekal Vidyalaya, which under Shiksha Abhiyan runs tribal and rural education in 100,000 schools across the country, is his role model. His father instilled in him the need to serve the nation, take pride in his cultural identity and propagated Hindutva’s all-encompassing tolerant philosophy.
He compliments the Union government for removing all bottlenecks in his work that entailed travelling to all geographically far off areas where slums are located. “All the clearances like travel passes were facilitated by the administration. This facilitated smooth sailing for our entire team that worked across the capital from March end till May 7.”
As a leading designer in the country, Suket made the nation proud when he emerged winner and bagged the International Woolmark Prize, the Oscar of the fashion world. But it was this charity work — distributing complimentary ration during the lockdown — that gave him gratification. Every week, each family received 1 kg each of sugar, salt, mustard oil, powder milk, 10 kg of wheatflour, two kg dal, two kg rice and two packets of Maggi.
Suket, a resident of Sheikh Sarai in Delhi, has a word of praise for Sewa Bharati. “Volunteers of this noble organisation are full of energy and commitment. They worked for long hours while adhering to social distancing. All the three teams never met each other.”
What was heartening for Suket was that people from all sections of society — doctors, chartered accountants and slum dwellers participated with great enthusiasm in the larger interest of the marginalised. “We received donations by socially conscious citizens.”
Distribution was done in a meticulous manner to ensure that groceries were Covid- compliance by volunteers who were protected by PPT kits, masks, and shields. One team was entrusted the task to pack goods for all families from 9 am. to 6 pm. “On a large table 1,000 packets were kept. After the first team left then the delivery vans would come and pick the packets. Later, the third team would inspect that ration had reached all families in jhuggi jhopri clusters.”
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