IAS Officer’s Initiative Provides Weekly Ration to 17,000 Stranded Migrant Workers

Social distancing has left thousands of homeless and wage workers stranded. Neither are they being offered shelter by people nor can they live on streets anymore. Read how Raipur Municipal Commissioner is helping tackle the crisis

IAS Officer’s Initiative Provides Weekly Ration to 17,000 Stranded Migrant Workers

Since Chhattisgarh’s capital recorded its first COVID-19 case (on 19 March), the Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC) has been enforcing strict measures like social distancing to break the chain of transmission. For the same, it has implemented a comprehensive programme making provisions for essential services for people including shelter. Besides covering the local daily wage earners, homeless and the poor, the initiative also covers stranded migrant workers from other parts of the country and the state.

“There were primarily two reasons for extending a helping hand to the migrant workers,” Municipal Commissioner IAS Saurabh Kumar  tells The Better India, “The lockdown has forced people to stay where they are and sealed borders making it more difficult for them to go home. In such a scenario, it would be inhuman to exclude them from food distribution and other benefits on grounds of not possessing a ration card.”

Raipur Municipal Corporation helping the needy

Another reason was to prevent transmission of the deadly virus as the first COVID-19 patient in Raipur had a foreign travel history. Thus, the corporation felt it was best to restrict movements as much as possible.

Kumar is being aided in his efforts by the District Collector S BharatiDasan, Ceo Zila Panchayat, Dr Gaurav Kumar Singh and SSP Arif Sheikh and around 150 NGOs, who are together ensuring a continuous supply of ration to migrant workers.

To help keep the momentum of the initiative going, RMC, working with Akshaya Patra Foundation, is now aiming to raise Rs 15 lakhs to procure rations for the needy till the lockdown is lifted.


The Better India’s “BETTER TOGETHER” initiative has brought together civil service officers from across the country as they help migrant labourers, daily wage earners, frontline workers, and all those who need our help most in these troubled times. You can join us and support them in this fight against COVID-19.

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Food Distribution

RMC’s work in full swing

To begin with, RMC conducted an on-field survey about people from outside the city who don’t have ration cards. Based on their Aadhar card numbers, a ward-wise list was prepared of around 19,500 people. Of the total, 2,000 work with companies that provide relief materials.

More than 17,000 beneficiaries are now getting weekly ration kits (each costing Rs 491) that comprises 5 kg of rice, 1 kg of dal, 500 gms of besan (gram flour), 1 litre of cooking oil and soap. In some areas, milk is also being provided, especially for families with children. Apart from the ration kits, RMC is also distributing nearly 8,000 packets of cooked meals daily to economically weaker sections (EWS).

Providing relief to the needy

The newly-formed Food Distribution Cell of RMC goes door-to-door to distribute the kits and meals as distribution by vendors and shops is strictly prohibited.

Other means of procuring food include donations from pulse millers, corporates and organisations and subsidies from the state government.

Providing Shelter & Other Measures

Social distancing has left thousands of homeless and wage workers stranded. Neither are they being offered shelter by people nor can they live on streets anymore. To help such people, RMC is using the PMAY Housing scheme for the urban poor to allot free accommodation to them. Currently, the corporation has provided housing to 250 such people.

The other measures employed by RMC to fight COVID-19 include:

  • Continuous patrolling, remote monitoring of quarantined people and deploying drones to minimise physical contact
  • Sensitising the public about social distancing
  • Doorstep delivery of essential supplies
  • Producing 1.5 lakh masks for free distribution
  • Disinfecting public places
  • Regular health-check ups at senior citizen shelter homes and doorstep delivery of medicines for the elderly.

Local administrations like RMC are working round-the-clock to help the underprivileged in these tough times and  The Better India is doing its bit by extending support through a campaign to raise funds for this initiative.

You may make your contribution by clicking on the link below:


The Better India’s “BETTER TOGETHER” initiative has brought together civil service officers from across the country as they help migrant labourers, daily wage earners, frontline workers, and all those who need our help most in these troubled times. You can join us and support them in this fight against COVID-19.

Unable to view the above button? Click here


Feature image source: Saurabh Kumar/twitter

(Edited by Saiqua Sultan)

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