COVID-19: On Sonia Gandhi’s instructions, UP Congress launches 24x7 helpline number for migrant workers

With an aim to provide help to migrants standard in different parts of the country, UP Congress on Thursday launched a helpline number, following instructions from the party president, Sonia Gandhi.

Sharing the number on various social media platforms with a poster featuring a photograph of the Congress general secretary Priayanka Gandhi, UP Congress urged people to call on the number in case of crisis.

“If you are a resident of the UP stranded in other states or you are a resident of other states stranded in UP, and you need food or rations, call us,” reads the helpline poster.

“Though the whole nation is going through an unprecedented crisis, those who are the at bottom of the society such as migrants, Dalits, poor, daily-wage workers are facing the worst. Since government’s response/help is not sufficient, Congress decided to come forward and join people’s fight against Corona pandemic,” said Ajay Kumar Lallu, head of the UP Congress over the phone.

Another young Congress leader told NH that though the party had launched a helpline number in March, immediately after the Coronavirus hit the country, the new helpline number is connected with more advanced systems.

“Two call centers have been set up in Lucknow with 24x7 monitoring,” said the leader, adding, “If someone calls at the number, the inbuilt system automatically collects information regarding the caller. Then, we analyse the information and deploy our help teams working on the ground accordingly”.

“Not only in Lucknow, Congress has set up a control room in all 75 districts of the Uttar Pradesh. Though the focus is on UP, anyone living in any part of the country can call us. We will reach out,” added the young leader who has been involved in the relief and food-distribution campaign for the poor launched by the grand old party.

“I have been distributing 500 food-packets among poor and migrants for the last two weeks every day. Let us see who wins, Corona or the Congress?” he chuckled over the phone.

Hours after the UP Congress launched the helpline number, Priyanka Gandhi tweeted that the Rai Bareilly and Amethi district Congress committees have asked the local administrations to provide them with the list of the migrants who came from other states. “So that the Congress can pay for their tickets,” she said in her tweet.