By Matters India Reporter

Siliguri, Aug 10, 2020: The social service center of Bagdogra diocese in West Bengal has been engaged on creating awareness on Covid-19 in Siliguri Sub-division ever since the India went into a lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our focus has been on educating villagers and workers of tea estates about Covid-19 along with some relief distribution,” Father Felix Antony Pinto, director at Seva Kendra Siliguri, told Matters India.

Siliguri city, some 590 km north of Kolkata, the state capital, sits surrounded by tea estates in the foothills of the Himalayas.

The villagers and tea estate workers need guidance and support to take preventive measures for themselves and families, Father Pinto explained.

“Our staff has been corona warriors in their own way. While medical fraternity cares for Covid patients, we try to prevent people from contracting the disease. Awareness is the best remedy to stop corona, especially in the Indian context,” Father Pinto explained.

According to the priest, his aid agency’s focus has been children and malnourished women.

The center has sensitized the children, women and illiterate villagers to protect themselves from corona infection.

“Besides distributing nutritional food items, we provide soaps, bottles of sanitizer, and masks and educate them about its importance and benefit of these while reminding them about the rule of physical distancing,” Father Pinto said.

The center, he adds, hopes to reach 2,000 school children and 3,500 malnourished women with a Covid protection and food kits.

Seva Kendra’s some regular programs include the formation of women of Self Help Groups and managing a tuition center for rural children.

“Side by side, we help people in accessing many schemes the government has for the lockdown period,” said Father Pinto.

According to reports, the tea industry is India’s second-largest employer. Workers and their families in tea gardens generally lack basic needs and facilities such as safe drinking water, healthcare, housing, and education, besides proper and just wages. They face rampant poverty, malnutrition, and human trafficking and starvation deaths.

Most workers are unable to access welfare schemes and benefits introduced by the government.

Plantations are common in all northeastern Indian states, besides West Bengal.