Bidyanondo providing food for home-quarantined in capital

Bidyanondo, a voluntary organisation, received a phone call at its official phone number on Sunday noon from Tolarbag of Mirpur area in the capital.

The caller informed that they do not have sufficient food as the family is in-home- quarantine and Tolarbag is now under strict restriction after the death announcement of a coronavirus infected patient of the area on Saturday.   

Then, a volunteer team from Bidyanonodo moved to the area to supply food for the family in the evening.

"We received phone calls from 4-5 families. A six-member team of volunteers went to that area with water and dry foods," said Hasib Mia, a volunteer of Bidyanondo.

"These home-quarantined people were not interested to come out as a precautionary measure of preventing coronavirus spread. But they did not have alternatives to collect food. So, they phoned us," he added.  

"I was one of the volunteers who wore personal protective equipment. We supplied food to three families in a building. We placed the foods before the flat of each family and we left the area," he further added. 

Samrat, another volunteer of Bidyanondo said, "The daughter of the deceased elderly person talked us over the phone on Sunday midnight. She said that their food might be finished within Monday noon. She requested for supplying food with a choked voice."

"We got another phone from Nikunja area in the capital. But the area is not locked down and we will provide food after verification. Supplying food with maintaining health safety is very expensive," he added.

Established in 2013, Bidyanondo is an educational voluntary organisation in Bangladesh that has been running by 40 officers and hundreds of volunteers.

A very unique programme that began by Bidyanondo is 'Ek Takay Ahar', which refers to 'food for a single penny.'

Under this program, hundreds of street dwelling children, beggars, elderly people and physically and mentally challenged people roaming around streets or stations get their regular meals which is their fundamental need.

On Saturday, the health ministry announced the second death, a 70-year-old man, from the novel coronavirus in the country.

The man was a resident of Mirpur's Tolarbag in the capital.

Later, the local administration kept 672 families of 40 buildings under 'lockdown' in Tolarbag.

All the entrances are under lock and key, and no one is allowed to enter or exit from the area without permission.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Mirpur Zone Assistant Commissioner Mizanur Rahman said, "This is not a lockdown. We have restricted movement in the area as the coronavirus patient roamed there and interacted with many people."

However, Tolarbag House and Flat Owners' Association President Shuvashis Biswas said, "There is no problem of food in this area. Even, we informed the security guard of the deceased's residence to contact for any necessary products."

Sartaz Alim, a neighbour of the elderly deceased said, "Many families have been stocking food and other essential products for the last few days. They can also go for collecting the daily essentials with permission. 

Professor Dr Abul Kalam Azad, director general of the DGHS, said, "If food is scarce to any home- quarantined family, the local administration, police and public representative will look after the matter."