Expertise of over 50 NGOs to help Bengaluru manage rising coronavirus cases

BENGALURU: The city administration is engaging with over 50 civil society organisations and is tapping into their expertise in Covid-19 management amid spiralling coronavirus cases in the tech capital. Involving non-government organisations, officials say, is a part of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP’s) hyperlocal strategy to respond to the situation at the level of electoral booths which are 8,000 in number.

“We are closely working with civil society organisations. They have come forward to help us in mobilising volunteers, training and enabling volunteers to carry out house-to-house survey, identifying comorbid patients, arranging ambulances, etc. Some of these organisations are also providing us technology support,” BBMP commissioner N Manjunath Prasad told ET.

Although many NGOs in the city were responding to Covid situation in different ways, the work was happening in silos. BBMP officials say streamlining them will ensure the work does not overlap, and there is a clear and concerted effort to address Covid-related issues at micro-level. “Civil society organisations have a vast network of volunteers who could play a vital role in strengthening booth-level committees,” an official aware of the matter said, adding that the outcome of this initiative will largely depend on the “sustained effort”.


A month ago, the BBMP tried to activate booth-level committees consisting of booth-level officers and volunteers as first responders to Covid-related issues at the local level. But the committees have not geared up yet in many parts of the city. Each booth-level committee requires about 5-10 volunteers.

Some of the organisations that have associated with BBMP in Covid work include Action Aid, Citizen for Bengaluru, Janaagraha, Azim Premji Foundation, Centre for Internet and Society, Reap Benefit, Sensing Local Foundation, Hasiru Dala, Whitefield Rising and Slum Mahila Sanghatane.

For instance, Janaagraha with technological support from other organisations has developed a yet to be launched website to disseminate information about booth- and ward-level committees. The website also allows interested people to register as volunteers. “The website will act as a nerve-centre to track the work of booth and ward committees. The webpage is almost ready,” Srinivas Alavilli, Head of Civic Participation at Janaagraha said.

Azim Premji Foundation is extending support to the government at various levels. “We are providing front-line effort to reach an integrated Covid response to at least 10 lakh vulnerable population living in dense informal settlements in Bengaluru, and also intermediate- and tertiary-level support to hospitals and Covid care centres. We are supporting the BBMP and the state government in augmenting testing capacity and training and communication on Covid,” said Hyma Vadlamani, core member of Covid Bengaluru Healthcare Response Team at Azim Premji Foundation.