A group of young men has been taking care of the daily needs of the residents of Nandibagan and Uriyapara in Howrah’s Golabari, both of which are containment zones, as no one is allowed to step out of their homes.

Residents of the area hang bags from the gates of their houses with a list of required items.

The youths, who have teamed up with the cops, ensure that the families get everything from groceries to medicines.

Over 400 families received rice and wheat from the only ration shop open in the neighbourhood on Monday.

Nandibagan and Uriyapara, where the youths have been working, are part of wards 10 and 15 of the Howrah Municipal Corporation and among the 74 wards declared as “containment zone”.

Since Howrah was declared a red zone, along with Calcutta and North 24-Parganas, these two wards were marked containment zones. This meant all movements were restricted and no one was allowed to go out .

Over 400 families received rice and wheat from the only ration shop open in the neighbourhood on Monday.

The Howrah district administration geared up for complete clampdown as the death count from Covid-19 crossed 15 in the district. Over 200 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Howrah. “There are 1,028 card holders at the ration shop and we realised that all of them needed rice and pulses as their stocks were running out,” said one of the youths from Nandibagan.

“We had asked them to drop their bags along with the cards outside their homes. Volunteers went around collecting the cards on Sunday and from early on Monday, we started visiting the ration shop with the cards and picked up supplies. These were then delivered in e-rickshaws,” the youth said,

Residents thanked the youths for saving them a trip to the ration shop and standing in queue. “It is a challenge to visit the shop every week to collect our supplies because of the long queue. Still, I have to because there is no one else to do this job,” said Alpona Koley, who lives near Taltala maidan. “The way these youths came forward today is amazing. I bless these youths for the wonderful job.”