Lathi in hand, service in heart: RSS volunteers stand guard at hospital

Donned successful their accustomed brownish sound and a achromatic garment with a lathi successful their hands, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members are deployed astatine the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital wherever some the dormant and the injured of the tragic Air India clang are admitted successful Ahmedabad connected Saturday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MANAS RANJAN BHUI

As chaos unfolded successful the aftermath of the devastating Air India crash, the unmistakable show of achromatic shirts, brownish trousers, and lathis successful manus came to predominate the country astatine the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital -- not for drills this time, but to serve.

In a singular show of ground-level mobilisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ruling BJP's mentor outfit, has deployed 150 volunteers astatine the infirmary wherever some the deceased and the injured from the crashed Air India formation were brought in.

Working successful tightly coordinated shifts, these volunteers person formed a quality model of enactment — guiding traumatised families, regulating postulation and coordinating with section authorities.

The hospital, already overwhelmed with the inflow of ambulances, grieving relatives, and mediapersons, present sees volunteers from the right-wing outfit managing queues, distributing acold h2o bottles, escorting families to the DNA sampling counter, and successful immoderate cases, adjacent providing affectional enactment to those waiting for quality astir their loved ones.

“We don’t privation to beryllium successful beforehand of the camera. This is not astir visibility; it’s astir service,” said 1 elder RSS idiosyncratic stationed adjacent the infirmary gross who refused to talk connected camera. “We person divided our squad into 3 shifts of 8 hours each. Our purpose is to guarantee that the medication and families look nary further trouble,” helium added.

Armed with lathis -- their accepted bamboo sticks -- and wearing their trademark subject similar a uniform, the swayamsevaks person assumed duties from dawn to midnight, adjacent helping negociate the assemblage of VIP visitors, aesculapian staff, and frantic relatives.

With implicit 300 shakhas (branches) functioning successful Ahmedabad alone, the Sangh's spot successful the metropolis is formidable. While their beingness has triggered quiescent murmurs astir governmental optics, galore connected the crushed -- including infirmary unit -- accidental their assistance is, astatine the moment, applicable and visible.

One unpaid said softly, portion adjusting barricades to marque mode for a stretcher, “In pain, everyone is the same. We are present to serve.”