Nashik: Crossing the vast Narmada River is not easy but 27-year-old Relu Vasave crosses the river every day to reach a small village 18 km away. The reason behind this is that Relu is an Anganwadi worker and the village located here is situated in a different nature from the rest of the world. The villagers are also straightforward tribesmen who have stopped coming to their taluka headquarters due to fear of Corona virus. In Teva, he stopped coming to Relu's Anganwadi by boat and Relu thought about how he would get the necessary medicines and nutritious food during these difficult times. And then Relu decided to go up to them.
The village can be reached only by boat to reach this village which is situated amidst the forests of the name. The total return trip is 18 km, however, Relu does not give up in this journey by rowing his own boat. Asking for a small boat from a local fisherman, he reaches these small huts called Aligat and Dadar. There are about 25 newborns and about 7 pregnant women for whom adequate nutritious food is essential. Since last April, Relu goes alone 5 days a week to help these tribesmen with food and medical checkup equipment.
The Anganwadi that Relu works in is located in Chimalkhadi, an inland tribal area of Nandurbar district of Maharashtra. Relu's job is to look after newborns, children under 6 and pregnant women. Relu checks the weight of these people. If there is any problem, he notices it and delivers the nutritional supplement provided by the government.
After the nationwide lockdown in March, the people of this small tribal village in the backwaters of the Narmada River stopped crossing the river to reach Anganwadis and cities. "Usually pregnant women and children visit our center in a boat with someone from their family. But they have stopped coming here for fear of the corona virus," Relu told the Times of India.
Like her husband Ramesh, Relu has been floating and navigating since childhood. Relu, a mother of two young children, has been working for the last 6 months to fulfill her duty. Rail work starts from 7.30 am. He reaches Aganwadi here and works till noon. He then lands on a boat in the afternoon to reach these villages and returns late in the evening. Most of the time he travels alone with the weight of small children and the amount of affordable supplements. Sometimes his relative music also comes with it. He also works for Anganwadi.
These villages are not reached by boat alone. After reaching a certain place by boat, the train has to climb a hilly area to reach the villages. He said, "It is not easy to run a boat every day. My hands are so sore at home in the evening. But I'm not worried about it. It is important for me that young children and pregnant women get the nutrition they need and I will continue to reach these villages as part of my duty until something good happens about Covid-19. '
The tribesmen of these villages are very happy with this selflessness of Relu. Shivram Vasave, a resident of Aligat village, who is regularly visited by Relu at home to check on his 3-year-old nephew, said, "They give us guidance on how to take care of the child. Whenever he comes to our house he gets all the information about his health and gives us advice. '
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