Mumbai: As the nationwide lockdown enters its twelfth day, there are still many left without a morsel to eat, including the old and the infirm. In the last week, an ayurvedic doctor - Dr Uday Modi, who runs a tiffin service for the elderly in Mira Road and Bhayandar, has received more than 50 calls for food from abandoned senior citizens.
This is in addition to the 250 mouths he feeds, twice a day, regularly. Currently, his biggest hurdle is not how to handle the volume of requests but finding groceries.
One of the newest recipients of Dr Modi's care is Renuka Kapoor, a widowed septuagenarian who is currently living alone in Bhayandar. Her elder son and the rest of the family went to visit her younger son in London.
Now, because of restrictions imposed on flights, they are not able to return home. Due to the lockdown, her two domestic helpers stopped coming. She suddenly found herself at the mercy of her neighbours. They did look after her but had to temporarily shift during this period.
“We provided her food for the first five days but now, we have shifted to my daughter’s house in Ghatkopar. We needed to arrange for her food so we called Dr Modi,” said Jayshree Thakkar, Kapoor's 62-year-old neighbour. There are stories of other seniors similarly stranded in their homes during the lockdown and this is why lately, Dr Modi is deluged with calls.
“There are several such senior citizens, especially those abandoned and starving in the lockdown. In the last one week, I have received over 50 calls for food from elderly people,” said Dr Modi, who resides in Bhayandar.
He has procured special permission to deliver food free-of-cost to over 250 senior citizens. He provides six chapattis, dal and sabzi for two meals. But procuring vegetables in the lockdown is the biggest challenge, as most of the grocery shops have run out of produce.
“In Bhayandar, vegetable shops are allowed to remain open between 8 and 11am. But there are no vegetables and planning meals are a struggle,” he laments. Dr Modi, fondly called 'Dr Tiffin', is a well-known face in the medical fraternity for his philanthropic activity. For the last 13 years, he has been providing free food to elderly citizens, with donations.
During the lockdown, he is being helped by a dozen local volunteers, who deliver the food to the doorstep of the recipients, in a tempo. “We are also getting calls from the handicapped who are alone but currently, our primary focus is only on senior citizens,” he said.
