Nagapattinam / Tiruvarur: It’s not just volunteers, but a whole lot of public sector workers who are working day and night without proper food and sleep on ground zero to restore the cyclone Gaja-hit delta districts back to form.
So, some of the volunteers working towards the recovery of the affected areas say, “Let’s take some time to thank them by doing an instant appreciation along with that.”
A lot of posts on social media show pictures of government employees, especially those who belong to the Electricity Board, panchayat administration and veterinary departments working tirelessly night and day.
Following this, a couple of volunteering organisations and individual groups have been taking some steps to appreciate and thank these workers.
This News Today correspondent met a Chennai-based volunteering group – Gaja Relief Squad – Chennai, travelling along the Vedaranyam-Tiruthuraipoondi Main Road, distributing certificates to workers of the veterinary department who had put up a free animal husbandry counselling stall for victims who had lost their cattle and poultry in the severe cyclonic storm.
When asked about the contents of the certificate, one of the volunteers, D Sampath Raj, said, “Here we have designed a simple yet elegant thanksgiving card which can be printed by volunteers across the State and handed over to the tireless workers of departments like EB, fire and rescue, municipality, panchayat, police, sanitation, and so on.”
He said the soft copy of the template was available on all social media. “Volunteers need to have just a bunch of printouts, preferably on standard card type sheets. When you find some exceptional, sincere worker on the field, you can thank them by writing their department (first blank), designation (second blank) and name (last blank) and present this to them. Don’t forget to smile,” says Sampath said.
Further, he pointed to the card and said, “The card doesn’t have any specific organisation / community’s identity but just represents the people of Tamilnadu as a whole. So, anybody can use this, improvise it or even come up with their own version. We request the volunteers who come down here from different parts of the State to remember to thank them.”
Sampath said, “Members of our team have been visiting the cyclone-affected areas often and they carry a bunch of these cards along. So far, we have reached out to 67 employees from TNEB, veterinary and education department. Also, other teams from cities like Tiruchi have promised to issue these thanksgiving cards on their behalf.”
The template is available in two sizes A4 / A5 in the links below. One can download it for an unpixelated version in the links bit.ly/GajaThanksA5 <http://bit.ly/GajaThanksA5> or bit.ly/GajaThanksA4 <http://bit.ly/GajaThanksA4>. Sampath can be reached at 9944761304.
Another team of volunteers from Thiru Arutprakasa Vallalar Deiva Nilayam, Vadalur, were seen serving fruits along with the chants ‘Arutperum Jothi Thaniperum Karunai’ to the electricity department workers who were replacing damaged posts at Panjanathikulam, near Vedaranyam, in Nagapattinam district.
“We have been seeing them working every day, round-the-clock come rain or sun without proper food and sleep. So, we thought it would be great if we can offer them something to eat,” said one of the volunteers.
He also said, “Vallalar’s ideas always proposed a hunger-free society. That, too, when these workers are doing public service without food, it is our prime responsibility to feed them.”
When asked why fruits, why not a proper meal, he said, “We can offer them a meal. It is not that we would not, but they are in the middle of work. If it is a bunch of fruits that they have during work, it will be convenient for them. Also, fruits are the best hydrating items for someone in physical strain throughout the day.”