The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ body of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is helping stranded students in many states as colleges and universities remain closed with no clear signs of reopening. The body is carrying relief works, distributing food packets, giving medical assistance to thousands of needy students across the country.
ABVP national joint organization secretary Srinivas said that student kitchens have been started in all states and steps are being taken to distribute food and make ration kits. So far, more than 28 lakh food packets and over 4 lakh face masks have been distributed among students. Dry ration has been given to more than 3 lakh people. Apart from these, the ABVP also distributed sanitary napkins with the help of student activists.
Most of these masks were made by the student workers at their homes. Volunteers have also donated more than 8,245 units of blood across the country. Amid lockdown, there are many reports of students getting evacuated from hostels. In addition, students who lived in rented accommodations are also find themselves stranded. In response to this, volunteers of the ABVP have made extensive arrangements and have also prepared a roadmap to solve problems like teaching, rent, food, etc.
The body has initiated many schemes in collaboration with students and experts. According to Srinivas, the ABVP helped students from many states reach their homes. Special assistance was given to the students of India’s Northeast. It helped 16,776 students from the Northeast to reach their home states. It is also conducting online classes for many. More than 100 webinars have been conducted to connect farmers with the AgriVision platform in which problems of farmers are discussed via live broadcasting with agriculture scientists who solve their problems online.
In Pune, Mumbai and Indore, the workers are actively screening people by wearing PPE kits in association with medical experts. They have also launched a telemedicine app that offers free advice of experienced doctors in seven languages across the country. The ABVP claims that through its helpline, it has helped around 77,800 students so far and 1,70,361 workers are actively engaged in the service.
