All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society (AIPCS), which provides shelter to 1,600-odd destitute and disabled persons in its six branches across Punjab, is struggling to keep up its good work, with donations drying up due to the lockdown, imposed in view of covid-19.
Donation, its major source of sustenance, has dropped 90% from the average Rs 3 crore a month it received before the pandemic struck, the society says. Contribution from abroad formed 80% of the donations; this has stopped.
“Our society relies totally on donations, which have stopped almost completely. Few people are donating, but the amount is negligible compared to what we need. Earlier, on average we got Rs 3 crore a month,” said Inderjit Kaur, president, AIPCS.
She added, “For the past nearly three months, we have using our savings to run the society. With a daily average expense of Rs 6.5 lakh that increases if patients are to be treated, our savings will exhaust soon. We have not laid-off any of the 861 staff and not cut salaries. We, however, have issued an appeal to them to donate from their salaries.”
She added that with religious processions not allowed this year, they were not able to collect donations from NRI patrons in Canada, US and England as well. “During religious processions in these countries in 2019, we had collected around $60,000 (around Rs 42 lakh),” she claimed, adding an additional difficulty for the society was the increased cost of treatment in view of covid-19, as they had to provide medical equipment as well.
{{/usCountry}}She added that with religious processions not allowed this year, they were not able to collect donations from NRI patrons in Canada, US and England as well. “During religious processions in these countries in 2019, we had collected around $60,000 (around Rs 42 lakh),” she claimed, adding an additional difficulty for the society was the increased cost of treatment in view of covid-19, as they had to provide medical equipment as well.
{{/usCountry}}She added local residents continued to support them with wheat and rice, but an appeal to donate on its online portal had not yielded much result.
Chief administrator of the society, Col Darshan Singh Bawa said, “Donation from abroad, which was 80% of the total has dried up. Our donation boxes in gurdwaras are empty as there is hardly any footfall.” The society also runs special schools for deaf and dumb children. Its main branch, a three-storey building, is situated near Amritsar bus stand, comprising a female ward, children’s ward, rehabilitation centre, printing press, dispensary, medical lab, dental centre and a common kitchen.