Meet Rahul Kanal, a tireless fighter in Mumbai's war on Covid-19

There are thousands of unsung heroes across the world in the fight against the new coronavirus pandemic. Some in the medical sector — doctors and nurses — stay away from their families for months to keep others together. Some good Samaritans chip in silently to help the poor struggling to cope with the economic fallout of the infection. Some work with NGOs day in, day out.

Rahul Kanal is one such person who has been working relentlessly to help bring succor to the poor struggling to make their ends meet in Mumbai. He has clocked 200 days distributing aid during the pandemic crisis.

Kanal is known for his commitment to the cause of social relief work in Mumbai since 2008 and is the president of the ‘I Love Mumbai’ NGO that works tirelessly to help those in need. He is a close associate of Maharashtra cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray, who is also the head of the ‘Yuva Sena’, where Rahul is a core committee member.

During the Covid-19 crisis, Rahul ran a community kitchen that provided food for almost 6,500 people daily, carried out sanitisation of thousands of buildings, and distributed masks and sanitisers as well as medical assistance to the underprivileged. His NGO, in association with other groups of like-minded citizens, was able to provide groceries to more than 50,000 needy families. Kanal played a key role in mobilising restaurants in Mumbai to do Covid-19 relief work.

Kanal has been devoted to social service and has been an integral part of various NGOs since 2008 and is actively involved in all their initiatives. He spearheads various charitable drives in the fields of healthcare, education and the environment. He was in Purnia, a city in Bihar in 2008 where his NGO had set up a medical camp that cared for over 30,000 people.

He initiated the Beach Clean Up Drive at Chimbai in Mumbai's popular Bandra neighbourhood. And now on a weekly basis his team, along with the local residents of Chimbai, is continuing the clean-up in an effort to restore the 300-year-old scenic beach strip.

Over the past 12 years, Kanal has organised numerous blood donation camps all over the city as well as tree plantation drives and distribution of school books in which various citizens came out to participate and support all his noble efforts.

He was awarded for his humanitarian work during the pandemic by ICAFE, which is accredited by the United Nations, and by leading Indian newspapers Midday and by Free Press Journal. He also received the Mumbai Achievers Award for his humanitarian work and his NGO, I Love Mumbai, was awarded for its services during the pandemic.

His hard work and dedication to helping society is a tremendous inspiration for others to make a contribution in creating a better future for all.

• India