It all started when Olympian and shooting coach Joydeep Karmakar put up a “lockdown challenge” for his trainees to keep them motivated in the times of Covid-19.

The idea was to see how the youngsters were spending their time, unable to train for their sport. Two friends, Tanoy Dey and Ankit Kumar Singh, both national-level shooters, raised the bar a bit.

The Salkia residents took it upon themselves to provide food for the homeless and daily labourers in their neighbourhood. “I started the challenge on our academy’s WhatsApp group, encouraging the trainees to share what they were doing in these tough times. What these two are doing is wonderful,” said proud coach Karmakar.

“We tried to get a local shop that sells kachuri opened so that we could buy from there. But the Golabari PS did not give us permission. So we requested the owner to cook at his home and we are distributing that,” said 18-year-old Tanoy, who lives with his grandmother.

Ankit, a first-year BSc student of Surendranath College, is naturally worried about his parents who live in Chhapra, Bihar. “I live here with my relatives so that I can pursue shooting. Yes, there is coronavirus-related problems everywhere, but these people also need help.”

The two teenagers are paying from their pockets. While Tanoy is paying for the food, Ankit is getting the sanitisers. The duo are aware of their own safety also.

“We are taking all precautions. We are using sanitisers, gloves and masks,” said Ankit.