BMC mulls crowdfunding to provide ration to 20,000 families in Dharavi

The BMC has prepared a list of 20,000 families – mostly senior citizens, single mothers and widows – who would be provided with ration, medicines and sanitary kits initially. As per the plan, by donating Rs. 3,000, one can arrange these things for a family of four.

“One of the biggest challenges in Dharavi is providing essentials and food to the residents. Most people here live hand to mouth. Thus, they are bound to step out, which makes social distancing an almost impossible task. Around 55 per cent of COVID-19 infected persons from Dharavi are in the age group of 20 to 40 years, which indicates that these people, who otherwise would be working, are stepping out to arrange for food and essentials,” said Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, G North ward.

“We are preparing details of the kits and the crowd-sourcing platform. We are also in talks with NGOs and private companies who can finance the kits under corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities,” Dighavkar added.

In Dharavi, while BMC has distributed 20,000 grocery packets since over a month, it has also provided 19,000 food packets in the area. Spread over 2.4 sq km, Dharavi is home to 8.5 lakh people. The slum has recorded 632 cases, including 20 deaths till Monday evening.