The Road Ashram volunteers Siddhartha Dutta, Ahmer Siddiqui and Neha Chaturvedi arrived in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday with a view to engage and meet people from different walks of life and discuss the humanitarian impact of Covid and the restrictions imposed because of social distancing.
The team has travelled along the China and Nepal borders in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
They further went to Kolkata where they met organisations and eminent people, including the Mayor. In Sikkim they met with eminent and influencing citizens including Bhaichung Bhutia. They travelled up to India-Bhutan border in Jaigaon, West Bengal.
Amidst the health crisis and the safety measures, there has also been tremendous damage to the social structure wherein innumerable people have lost their jobs.
The effects range further into increased poverty, instances of early marriages, malnutrition and making of laws in an arbitrary fashion while we are all dealing with this chaotic situation.
The purpose of Road Ashram is to bring attention to all these stories of people and ensure that we do not limit ourselves to measuring the impact of the pandemic to the medical crisis," said the volunteers. “As conscious citizens of the country, we can’t just sit and let this happen,” said Dutta.Siddiqui said, “The idea is to stay on the road – in our very own, personally crafted car, that we have decided to call ‘Road Ashram’.
Through our 60 day drive on the kaccha-pukka roads on the borders, we wish to raise awareness and resources to help people facing difficulties due to the pandemic.” “Alongside, we will share videos and stories of India’s diverse cultures, places, and everything else that makes India what it is – a diverse, colourful and fascinating India,” he added.