There is a old saying that if you want to do something good and start it with all your heart, then, many people will go on joining you and the caravan will go on. Then one day your work will definitely be completed. A prime example of this has been seen in the Sambhal district of UP. Here, DM of Sambhal, Mr. Manish Bansal, appealed to the people of the city before Diwali last year to come forward and help as he wanted to build houses for leprosy patients.

With crowd sourcing, two multi-storey apartments were built and now 10 leprosy patients with their families are living in them. The apartments are beautiful, spacious and hygienic.

Indian Masterminds interacted with 2014 batch IAS officer, Mr Bansal, to know more about this initiative.

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DREAM HOME

Leprosy-inflicted 10 families live in Sambhal city. They didn’t have their own homes. And, they were also not eligible for any housing scheme, because they did not have their own land. So they could not apply for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

The place where they lived was municipal land and was a very shabby area. They were living in very small tin roof huts that badly needed repairs.

Mr. Bansal said, “So we took up an initiative in which we took all the people in Sambhal in confidence. After which, the people here supported. From businessmen to social workers, many people from almost every section of society came forward and donated money for a noble cause. They turned this small initiative into a community-driven one. Society can do wonders if there is a will.”

The administration then built two multi-story apartments. The 10 families living in hutments are now living in these apartments, in a clean and hygienic environment.

Hygiene is very important in leprosy, so that family members do not get affected and can live a normal life.

COMMUNITY DRIVEN

This project was started before Diwali last year. It was completely community driven. They donated according to their capacity. If someone had a business of bricks, he donated bricks. If someone had a tiles business, he donated tiles. This is how people of all religions came together and made it possible.

Mr. Bansal said, “It is a great example of communal harmony also. When we started the foundation work for this project, we did a Hindu ritual ceremony. But it was attended by people of different religions too. They came for the pooja as they recognized it as a noble cause.”

SDM City led this project and got its layout made. Under his leadership, the project got completed.

IF OTHERS ASK HELP

When asked what if other leprosy inflicted families also ask for such help, Mr. Bansal replied, “This case was different as those people didn’t have any land. That’s why we had to come forward to help. We have many programmes to support leprosy inflicted people. Also, the Municipal Corporation can somehow fund such houses on their own, as it is a separate body. But, if people of society come forward to help, then it would be really great.”

There are two main towns in Sambhal. Ten leprosy-inflicted families live in the city. And about 25 other families live in Chandausi town alone. Usually, these people live as a community because then they get each other’s support.

“It is possible that there may be more people living in rural areas. But the condition of these 10 families was very bad. Their difficulties increased greatly during the rainy season. So it was the need of the hour,” Mr. Bansal said.