Mumbai: The gates of religious places may be closed for devotees. However, in the testing time of the COVID19 outbreak, gurudwaras, temples and mosques have opened their gates for stranded labourers and the destitute who are finding it difficult to get even one meal a day.
Guru Singh Sabha Gurudwara at Andheri’s Four Bunglows area has been providing daily langar to 2,500 people, including the needy and essential service providers of the city.
Since the lockdown has been imposed, hundreds of migrant workers have been stranded in parts of the city and are deprived of all the basic necessities. The gurudwara has tracked down such labours and has been providing them with daily meals.
The gurudwara has also been providing meals to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) workers, the DN Nagar police officers and sanitation workers who are working day and night in areas like DN Nagar, Juhu and Gilbert hill. Policemen who are patrolling the areas throughout the day are also being served food.
The gurudwara is also helping the Sunni Muslim community group Madrasa-e-Taiba by providing additional food packets to stranded Muslim labourers and daily wage workers who have taken refuge in the mosque. The Muslim community groups has also written to the gurudwara administrations expressing their gratitude. "Humanity comes ahead of religion.
We are providing service selflessly to these people who need our help. We are maintaining proper hygiene control measures in the vicinity of our gurudwara, where people are being fed," said Pravleen Singh Gill, marine engineer and sevadar of the gurudwara. "Islamic organisations have expressed their gratitude to us.
The RSS has also demanded 150 packets from us, which we will be providing so they can help out more people," added Gill. Alongside this, temples and various religious institutions have also opened their gates for social service and work.
The Mumba Devi temple has donated Rs 21 lakhs to the Maharashtra relief fund. Similarly, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Ismaili Community are also providing daily meals to as many as 300 people daily in areas like Jogeshwari and Andheri (east)
