An IAS officer posted in Nadia has spent over Rs 50,000 of his personal savings to help migrant workers stranded across various parts of the country in the midst of the novel coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Manish Verma, a 2001-batch IAS officer from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, currently serves as the subdivisional officer in Krishnagar (Sadar) and has personally reached out to workers stuck at places, including Surat and Mumbai.

Verma said he had learned of the workers from different sources and had wired money to their bank accounts in order to alleviate their stressful condition.

“We have been passing through a critical phase because of Covid-19. A huge number of people are in serious trouble and I have been able to do too little for them. Their condition is troubling to me, so the least I could do was to help out financially,” said Verma, who has earlier served as SDO Ranaghat and Estate Manager in Kalyani.

“Apart from a civil servant, as a human being, my endeavour is always to help people in trouble with whatever resources I have. I did this because I heard people were trapped by themselves miles away from home. Sometimes, many made direct contact with me through the district control room. Sometimes, I made contact with them and obtained their bank details after reading about their plight in newspapers,” he said.

Sources in the district administration said Verma had so far paid over Rs 50,000 from his personal savings through bank transfers and cash.

“It is a question of social responsibility. I will be happy to see people who are able to, making similar gestures. It is not the amount of money which one can offer as help, rather the intention is recognised,” Verma said

Local sources in Krishnagar said Verma had also given money to social organisations who had been feeding homeless people and street dogs during the lockdown. “No one returns empty-handed if they approach Verma Sir,” an official of the Nadia administration said.

Raju Bhowmik, a migrant worker trapped in Surat, said: “I, along with some of my colleagues, are trapped in Surat. It was Verma Sir who sent us Rs 10,000 after learning of our plight. We will never forget such a gesture.”