From plastic sheets to a permanent roof: NGO brings relief to migrant families

The RB Jankalyan Foundation, Nurpur — an NGO known for its impactful social welfare initiatives — has become a beacon of hope for the underprivileged in the region. In a compassionate gesture, the foundation has provided a permanent pucca roof to 10 migrant families living near Jabbar Khud in Chhatrolli gram panchayat, Nurpur.

These families, who migrated from Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district over 15 years ago, had been living in makeshift plastic-sheet shanties on private land. Their livelihoods depend on odd jobs such as peddling household goods door-to-door, singing devotional hymns at kirtans, snake catching and working as domestic help.

In May this year, learning about the foundation’s work, some of the families approached its director, IAS officer Akil Bakshi, narrating their plight — particularly the constant threat of rain and flooding during monsoons. Moved by their struggles, Bakshi visited the area with his team to assess the situation.

“The locality had no approach road and the living conditions were appalling,” Bakshi told The Tribune. “We decided to construct a pucca community utility building purely on compassionate grounds, ensuring the safety of these families during the monsoon. After verifying that they had no involvement in illegal activities, we completed the structure within a fortnight and handed it over yesterday.”

Ironically, despite possessing voter IDs, PAN cards, Aadhaar cards and ration cards — and regularly exercising their franchise — these families have not benefited from any government welfare schemes. Inquiries revealed that the local gram panchayat facilitated their ID documentation, but no further support has been extended.

Residing barely 40m from the riverbank, the families have endured sleepless nights during seasonal floods. Expressing gratitude to the Foundation, residents Kamlesh Kumari, Vickky Jogi, Krishana Devi, Romi and Vihal urged the state government to provide them access to welfare schemes and construct a proper approach road. They lamented that their 30-member community still lives without basic amenities.