Friends of Barak Valley re-unite for ‘niswarth seva’ during Covid crisis

July 11: For many people who were shaken and stirred by the havoc caused by the pandemic, the unprecedented times reinstated the need to give back to the families, communities, and the regions they belong to.

Deb lives in the UK but is in close contact with his family back in India. Just like Guru, Subhrojyoti and Pranab who are in the US and do not let a day go without talking to their friends and families back home. The horrid stories of the disaster caused by the second wave reached them in no time. Arindam, Biswajit, Samik, Supriyo and Rajat who are in India, experienced the crisis induced by the deadly virus first-hand.

What is common between these men? All of them hails from Barak Valley, located in the southern region of Assam, and are a part of the NIT Silchar Alumni Association. They call themselves Niswarth Sevaks (selfless benefactors) and along with other like-minded people from across the globe, are driving ‘Niswarth Seva Barak (NSB)’.

When TV channels were blaring news about crumbling infrastructure in the power cities of the country – Mumbai and Delhi, many were wondering about the extent of inefficiency in the forgotten areas of the country. Barak Valley would have been no different. With this concern in mind, NSB initiative stepped up to support healthcare operations in the region with the help of local partner Shantanu Sutradhar (of Disha Enterprise) and provided financial aid to construct the base for a scalable healthcare system.

They assisted in mobilising support for setting up a second RT-PCR lab at the Silchar Medical College. NSB team were instrumental in procuring and setting up capital equipment like AC units, Computers, Printers, UPS, Generator Sets etc in record time which helped to get the second lab fully operational. As per SMC authorities, this helped them to perform 1500-2000 tests per day in peak time.

The ‘sevaks’ were also instrumental in organising daily ration for the underprivileged families in the area as well as providing basic health check instruments like Oximeter, Blood Pressure monitors to a local NGO under the project name “SCAN”. NSB team also partnered with NIT Durgapur and sourced few Oxygen Concentrators for the valley, they are in the process of handing over these to local institutions like Redcross, Sundari Mohan Seva Bhawan, etc.

Call it altruism, philanthropy, charity, or community service, it’s beyond doubt that giving back to society is a deeply enriching and satisfying experience. It is all about who you’ve lifted up, and who you’ve made better. The efforts of NSB were consolidated and funded at lightning speed, just because those who once grew up in the Valley, have committed to give something back to the valley and its people.

The NSB team is now looking at expanding their vision to aid local administration and NGO’s in directing any help and support to ease the impact of pandemic and any future wave. For all the latest updates, their website can be consulted https://niswarthsevabarak.org/