Bhubaneswar: Amid this challenging time, people are showing rare instances of unity and dedication to help society. Citizen forums are going the extra mile to help the poor and needy.
In such an instance of dedication and selfless service during this lockdown, a group of IRTS probationers arranged camel milk for a kid in Bhubaneswar suffering from autism and food allergy from faraway Rajasthan.
The milk was transported in 2 days by Parcel Express via Delhi and Howrah by SETU – a voluntary initiative by IRTS (Indian Railway Traffic Service) Probationers. It was delivered to the addressee at Bhubaneswar Railway station this evening. Cost of the transportation was merely Rupees One hundred twenty-five only for package weighing about 20kgs.
Camel milk has proven benefits for children with autism and it is also regarded as a better option for lactose intolerance or milk allergies.
SETU is a Voluntary initiative of IRTS Officers, with about 30 Probationers and a handful of young officers. The ongoing lockdown has disrupted the Supply Chains across the country. The objective is to facilitate the movement of goods through Indian Railways’ Parcel Trains, from literally any station to any station.
The common man cannot navigate through the maze of modes and thousands of contact numbers to move his goods. SETU, a Unified Helpline and Twitter handle were set up to facilitate the movement of goods using all available modes of transport. All anyone had to do was just call and SETU will work out the movement.
Without transgressing any rules and regulations in force, SETU acts as a bridge. An Information Bridge. The team gathers the requirements and passes to the appropriate authority who could immediately act on that information. SETU has gone beyond Railways and collaborated with NDRF, District Administration, Institutional Bodies and even Startups to ensure last-mile connectivity.
In 8 days, the 24 × 7 Helpline, manned by IRTS Probationers, received over 1400 calls and requests on Twitter. It connected 100+ locations and catered to diverse needs across the country. It facilitated the movement of critical medicines to several individuals and in bulk, lakhs of masks/PPEs, ventilators, raw material and finished goods, farm produce, fertilizers and other essentials.
It has also handled several distress calls regarding ration, eviction of migrants and the like.