The Atchaya Patra (inexhaustible vessel), which is used to serve food to the needy, never runs out in the Tamil Buddhist epic Manimekalai. In a similar vein, the Nesakkaram, a federation of social service organisations, hopes that the recently opened Atchaya Vaasal, a cloth bank consisting of shelves to keep new clothes available to those in need, won’t run out of clothing for the underprivileged.
The Municipality Chairman T Cholarajan opened the newly constructed Atchaya Vaasal on Gandhiji Road in Mannargudi, Tiruvarur, on July 6. About 25 persons donated clothing to the joint project of the Mannargudi Municipality and Nesakkaram, a federation of social service organisations, on the first day itself. Additionally, notebooks were donated.
“It is outside the Mannargudi Government Hospital; the arterial road sees a lot of footfall, including students,” said Nesakkaram coordinator R Bharathidasan. This is the reason the location for the vaasal setup was selected. To build the booth, Nesakkaram volunteers collected roughly Rs 1 lakh.
As word spread about the clothing booth for the underprivileged, textile business owners and medical professionals among others acted quickly to deposit fresh clothing. Bharathidasan stated that anybody in need of clothing might use the programme without reservation. Additionally, students were observed removing notebooks left in the booth.
