post news network, Puri, July 17: They have volunteered to help. Some as individuals tagging themselves along with some groups or some NGOs and some as part of well organised groups devoted to the service of the people. As they serve the tourists and devotees, who have descended on Puri for the grand Yatra, they feel they serve not only the Lord but also the humanity.
“I along with some of my friends have come down to this place to help the devotees, who are expected to assemble in large numbers. It is really worth it to help the elderly and serve other citizens. We are enjoying our work,” said one Soumyajeet Banerjee, who came from Kolkata to work as a volunteer during the Rath Yatra.
“(Our) main objective is to help the lakhs of tourists who have come here for the Rath Yatra. We have undertaken different tasks such as, spraying water on the crowd, managing the crowd, cleaning various corners of the city and other work to make sure that people enjoy their stay in Puri and take back good memories,” said Mihir Ranjan Pattanaik, assistant state secretary, Orissa Scouts and Guides.
According to the officials, around 560 youths from the Scouts and Guides from 19 states have come to the city to help the tourists during the festive days. Only youths above the age of 15 years have been given the task to help the crowd.
Men and women, both young and middle-aged, representing different organisations, both government and private, from different parts of the country have descended on the temple city to assist the devotees and visitors so that they can have a hassle-free ‘darshan’ of the Trinity.
Organisations of international standing, such as the Red Cross Society, are also there to help people out. “We have deployed around 2,000 personnel to help the devotees in different ways. We have been providing them with medical aid as well, so that no unfortunate incident takes place and people who have come from faraway places to attend the grand event feel helpless,” said an official from the Red Cross Society. A Red Cross camp at the sea beach saw many people coming to it for help.
Several other civil organisations too were seen engaged in activities like making arrangements for drinking water, tea, helping people find their way to their destination, etc. Areas where these volunteers were active included the sea beach, the Grand road, the VIP road, the railway station etc. Members of many social and religious organisations were also seen distributing free prasada and snack on the Grand Road.