After the "Rice Bucket Challenge", meant to feed the poor and underprivileged, the District Home Guards have now taken up another initiative to provide clothing to the lesser privileged.
Officers from the three units of the district-Thudiyalur, Mettupalayam and Pollachi, gave away nearly 700 clothes to the tribal hamlets at Thengumarada in nearby Nilgiris District.
The hamlets situated in the interior of the Thengumarada Forest, Kallampalayam, Melur and Keelur were identified, going by the dismal living conditions of its residents as several women were found wearing torn, worn out and dirty clothes.
The plight of the children and men remained pathetic as many had only two set of clothes, according to B Balaji, Area Commander of Coimbatore District Home Guards.
Titled "Aadai Kodai (donate clothe)", sarees, dhothis and kids wear, both new and used, were donated to the poor in the village. Besides, 50 kg of polished rice were also distributed to the people, he said in a release.
The aim of the unit was to provide the two most essential needs-food and clothing, Balaji said.
They had successfully taken up the Rice Bucket Challenge where nearly 200 guards donated over 500 kgs of rice to the needy including the mentally unstable and the deserted at Karunai Illam and Don Bosco Anbu Illam in the city.
District Superintendent of Police and Commandant of Home Guards Dr M Sudhakar said the effort taken up by the voluntary uniformed force would serve as an inspiration to others.
More such areas where people were living in a state of deprivation need to be identified so that their living conditions can be enhanced. Police would extend all its support to the initiative, he said.
