BMC launches initiative to collect old clothes and distribute among slum dwellers

Bhubaneswar: On the occasion of Utkala Dibasa, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) today launched ‘Wheel of Kindness’ initiative, under which citizens can donate their old clothes that will be distributed among slum dwellers in the city.

The clothes will be washed, pressed and packed at ‘Kindness Hub’ located at Madhusudan Nagar here before distribution.

Interested people can donate their clothes at BMC main office and at zonal offices or they can give a call on mobile number +91 7978242201 for collection of clothes from their doorstep.

This apart, the BMC is also planning to keep drop boxes for clothes at places like shopping malls and apartments etc. in the coming days.

A specially designed vehicle named ‘Kindness on Wheels’ will roll on the streets nearby slums for distribution of clothes among the needy people. The bus has segregated racks with clothes for kids, women and men.

As of now, the bus will ply on the streets nearby different slums or labour markets across the city in two shifts – from 9 AM to 2 PM and then from 4 PM to 9 PM in every working day. There will be no cloth distribution on Sunday.

NGO Vikash has been engaged for the work which will collect, wash and distribute the clothes. Around 2 to 4 people will be engaged in the vehicle to collect old clothes and distribute those among the needy as per their requirement. The NGO has been given the task of collecting at least 17, 500 pieces of clothes every month.

The BMC has set up a facility named ‘The Kindness Hub’, a central washing, packaging and inventory management centre (CWPIMC) on the premises of Old AG Colony UP School (which is closed now) in Madhusudan Nagar. The clothes collected from the donors will be washed, sorted and packed for their distribution at CWPIMC. Several classrooms of the school have been renovated and designed for the purpose. There are two washing rooms, three rooms for display and store, one room each for office and cloth collection. Around 10 people will be deployed daily to manage the entire activity starting from collection to distribution.

The Kindness Hub accepts clothes of persons of all ages — right from babies to elderly people — apart from bed sheets, towels, blankets and other such necessities.

“The purpose behind this initiative is to collect old clothes that can be still be used and make those available to the needy free of cost. Besides, it will encourage people not to discard their wearable old clothes, instead they can give it to us as a result these clothes reach the needy and homeless people living in the city,” said BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary.

The BMC will spend around Rs 1.60 lakh every month as part its running and maintenance cost of the initiative.