The Kerala government has announced it will form a youth volunteer force to help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Announcing the initiative, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said that a group of 2,30,000 youngsters between the ages of 24 and 40 will be part of this massive brigade.
The volunteers will be involved in the various preventive actions ongoing in the state to fight the spread of COVID-19.
“A group each of 200 youngsters will work in 941 panchayats in the state, 500 member groups in 87 municipalities, 750 members groups in six corporations will function for the program,” said Pinarayi Vijayan. A web portal named sannadham (ready), has been formed for youngsters to register in this.
From distributing food for those under quarantine and helping those who were unable to access essential commodities due to lockdown, the volunteer groups will be part of a range of activities. The groups will also help find out those who should be under quarantine, but aren’t or have been overlooked by the health department.
The youngsters who register as volunteers will be provided special identity cards. The government has also declared that they will be given travel expenses.
When Kerala faced floods in 2018 and 2019, thousands of youngsters had risen up to the occasion, contributing various services from distributing food to tracking stranded persons. Even now, apart from the volunteer army, a lot of youngsters are working with the district administrations for various services.
Meanwhile, the Kerala State Youth Commission has already identified a group of 1,465 volunteers, who will team up with the youth volunteer army announced by the chief minister.
Those interested in volunteering can register through this link.
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