As torrential rains continue to lash out flooding Singara Chennai, Bengalureans are busy building bridges and working around the clock to make sure that their brothers don’t go on an empty stomach by sending them food and supplies.
After returning from Chennai last night, 24-year-old Arun Vinayak readies his car and his company’s trucks for round two. “The supplies ran out in no time. So yes, the need is real and massive,” says the young CPO of Ather Energy. “The most crucial of supplies have been milk, milk powder, water (which is being sold for six times the price), bread, biscuits, rotis, sanitary napkins and blankets. Our last shipment alone affected the lives of 200 stranded families, positively,” he says, visibly impressed by how Chennai is working together as a unit. For people like Arun who are driving down to the stranded city, ChennBengalureans show that their heart is in the right place as they go all out to personally ensure that food and other essential supplies reach the people of Chennai in their hour of needaites are opening their doors, to stay or use their casas as storage space too.
If we go by what the volunteers have to say, some even seem to have specific requests on what they want to eat (hint: mutton biriyani). And that’s one of the main reasons that they are now going all out to promote donation of non-perishable, packed food. “We see a lot of them drop off staples like rice and dal, packets of Maggi and soups. What they don’t realise is, where are we going to cook them?” adds Tanu Ramanathan, a graphic designer from Bengaluru, who quit her job just to help out in Chennai, as she echoes the sentiments of actor Siddharth.
Amongst abandoned houses and belonging, there are also animals in the mix. As the army boats refused to accommodate dogs, a few good people from the Bengaluru are even planning on what we can only call a Noah’s Arc. Known for her work with dogs, city lass Mandy Vasudevan began to raise money for inflatable boats to aid stranded pooches. “While everyone seems to be jumping to the rescue of humans, not many seem to be worried about the voiceless animals. We decided to take up their cause and tied up with NGOs like Blue Cross in Chennai to send supplies to,” says Jessica Jerusha, another animal crusader from the city. Pet parents have come together to collect over 2,000 kilos of dog food, fodder, hay, blankets and medical supplies meant for animals. “Issues still persist with trucks not willing to carry neatly packed animal food with human food,” she says. Another concern is what even actors like Suriya and Madhavan are alerting the public to – imposters redirecting rescue trucks from the Chennai border and selling supplies. “That’s one of the many reasons why we are driving down with the trucks so that the food reaches the right hands,” says a volunteer from a city-based NGO. Chennaites can now can now rest in the fact that we’re all in this, together.
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