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– Food items to be distributed among 10,000 of the poorest of poor families
– Additionally, masks and sanitisers to be distributed among medical staff
Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, who is the MD & CEO of Bandhan Bank, has announced his personal commitment to the welfare of the medical staff and the less privileged, who are affected by the lockdown imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ghosh’s contribution will be in two parts – first, he will distribute food items to the poorest of the poor who have been finding it difficult to earn their livelihood due to the lockdown and thereby have issues with availability of food at home; and second, providing masks and sanitisers in remote and distant locations for the protection of medical staff and other ancillary services working with them.
The food items will be distributed among 10,000 poor families in West Bengal and Assam. Few of these families are a part of Bandhan Bank’s CSR programme called Targeting the Hardcore Poor Programme, which is run by Bandhan-Konnagar, the CSR implementation agency of the Bank. The other families will be identified at the ground level, focussing on the poorest of poor who are finding it difficult to afford and gain access to food items given the lockdown due to COVID-19.
The food items will be distributed in packs keeping in mind the nutritional value of the food that can be prepared from them. The packs will contain rice, pulses, soyabean cake, mustard oil and salt. Along with the food items, soaps will also be given and the recipients will be encouraged to maintain proper hygiene.
Ghosh has also announced the distribution of masks and hand sanitisers, among medical staff and ancillary services in areas where Bandhan Bank’s CSR implementation agency, Bandhan-Konnagar, is already running its health related programmes. This will be undertaken in the states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.
About this personal contribution, C S Ghosh said, “Ever since the lockdown has started, I have been speaking to my teams on ground and checking the situation of the less privileged. Given that the lockdown has had an impact on their earning potential, I decided to contribute to the most basic requirement of any family – food. I am also happy that I am able to contribute to the safety of medical staff by contributing to the availability of masks and sanitisers. I salute the efforts of the medical staff in fighting COVID-19. They are risking their lives and selflessly working for days at a stretch to ensure we stay healthy and safe. In the distribution of these items, the teams will work with necessary permissions of the authorities and with all prescribed preventive measures.”
The monetary value of Ghosh’s contribution is estimated to be Rs.1 crore.
