Alappuzha: Kerala police assist social worker to aid the homeless during lockdown

Even as the nation battles the novel Coronavirus pandemic, police and socially conscious people are coming together to help those in need. One such social worker is S Murukan, who has been helping the homeless and destitute in Kerala for years. He has now started to help people living on the streets of Alappuzha with hardly anyone to look after them during coronavirus lockdown.

Although this time, the Kerala Police has come to provide a helping hand to Murukan, which too has been playing its part in rehabilitating the destitute and people with mental illness. Those who are found living on the roads, in shabby conditions, are taken to a police station, given a haircut and a bath before being sent to designated rehabilitation centres.

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720 people rescued

In coordination with S Murukan-founded Theruvoram NGO, the police have rescued 720 people from across Kerala since the countrywide lockdown came into effect late March. Murukan said that he is getting little help when it comes to financial assistance and is finding it difficult to run the rehabilitation centre amidst the restrictions put in place to check the spread of coronavirus.

"Since the imposition of the countrywide lockdown, our team has rescued 720 people from across the state. The Police help us to identify these people, but I am also facing financial issues in carrying forward the work," Murukan said. "I have spent a considerable part of my life on the streets. I was in an orphanage for 10 years and now I run this NGO," he added.

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Cop lauds initiative

The Circle Inspector of Mararikulam, Midhun, said that Murukan's rehabilitation efforts is a great initiative which is why the cops are helping him. "We come across many such people during our patrol. They are given food, clean clothes to wear and then they are sent to rehabilitation centres run by Theruvoram," Midhu said.

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Coronavirus outbreak

Kerala has been successful in containing the COVID-19 outbreak and flattening the infection curve, although it was the first state to report a case in India. It currently has only 37 active cases of the infection, including three reported on Tuesday, as against 462 patients who have recovered and three deaths. The nationwide lockdown which was initially imposed for a period of 21-day has been further extended till May 17.

(With ANI inputs)

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