Humanity Wins Again! Punjab Gurudwara Provides Food To Madrasa Students Stuck Due To Lockdown

The sudden shutdown owing to the spread of coronavirus has upended the lives of millions across the nation. Many are struggling to get access to basic necessities or are stuck at a place where help is far away.

Amid this crisis, several non-governmental organisation, social outfits and good Samaritans have joined hands to help those in dire straits.

More recently, gurdwara Haa Da Naara Sahib in Malerkotla, Punjab took the onus to feed students of a nearby Madarsa who were stuck here after the lockdown.

According to Quint, soon after the lockdown was imposed the Madrasa arranged for kids to be sent back to their homes, but about 40 of them hailing from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were left behind. Bhai Narinder Pal Singh, Head Granthi of the Haa Da Naara Sahib gurdwara told Quint that he could not bear to see the plight of kids going hungry because of the crisis. When the gurdwara committee learned about their problems, they decided to take up the responsibility to feed them.

Speaking to The Tribune, the Maulvi in-charge of the Madarsa expressed gratitude to the gurdwara for their help. He said, ¡°After the imposition of curfew, the trains were cancelled. Since we did not expect sudden curfew, we couldn¡¯t make required arrangements. But we are thankful to the gurdwara committee for taking care of it. They always help whenever anyone is in trouble.¡±

Source/The Tribune

While feeding the students of the Madrasa on the first day, the gurdwara committee faced problems as the students did not have the required utensils.

¡°The next day we also took utensils from the gurdwara. We requested the area residents, NGOs and social workers to come forward as we all need to get united and help the poor to save our country,¡± said Bahadur Singh, president of the gurdwara committee told the Tribune.

Source/The Quint

The in-charge of the gurdwara, Kuldeep Singh informed Quint that the gurdwara is feeding 800 people in the morning and 700 people in the evening.

Apart from this, the gurudwara has been serving langar to around 1,000 needy and poor people every day. The sewadars, with the help of local women, have been preparing langar for the residents every day. Another gurdwara in Malerkotla has also taken the responsibility of feeding migrant labourers who are stuck in the nearby areas due to the lockdown.

In a similar initiative, the Sikh community in UK helped elderly people with free nutritious food and are delivering it to their houses amid lockdown.

A man named Harjinder Singh Kukreja recently took to Twitter to announce that Sikhs in Slough, Berkshire, came up with ¡®Mobile Food Support¡¯ for people aged 65-years and above and will be delivering ¡°healthy and nutritious¡± food to them. Speaking to News 18, Harjinder said: ¡°Sikhs have been at the forefront of philanthropic work throughout the world. The community ongoingly delves into social causes which make a mammoth difference.¡±