The spread of COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone across the globe however the poor migrant workers are the most affected ones in India. Many people have come forward to help them in the times of distress. Among these generous people is Rap artiste Raftaar who has been working with friends like Ikka, Millind Gaba, Ismail Darbar and Kuwar Virk among others to distribute gamchas, water bottles, food and chappals to migrants who are travelling from Delhi to their respective home states. Over the last few weeks, the singer has been working with his friends while being in Mumbai.
Producer Vikrant Kaushik, one of his close collaborators on this exercise, said that “Raftaar and I actually distribute things to people on Diwali, Christmas and also during the New Year’s celebrations. We have been doing this for a few years now but have chosen not to speak about it. At this point, no matter how hard we try, people want to go back to their home cities, their villages or their own homes, however far they may be. A whole lot of them are walking on the roads because they cannot wait any longer. It’s human instinct and we would also have behaved in a similar manner if we were in their position. So, Raftaar, I and a few of our friends got together and started distributing footwear, gamchas, water and dry food to people to ensure we can help them in some way to reach their homes. We’ve distributed about 4000 pairs of chappals. We recently had a round of distributions in Dwarka, Delhi, . A lot of our friends have helped us with money and some of them have just ensured the word spreads. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that people should reach their destinations safely.
