In a warm and noble gesture towards the poor, Lucknow’s ‘Anokha Mall’ is working towards uplifting the underprivileged is making headlines. Here poor people can come and take away warm clothes or other accessories of their choice at no cost.
Source- Knocksense
The mall operates for three months December, January and February at Raheem Nagar here, takes woolens from donors and keeps them on display for the poor. This cycle has been repeating for the past five years. The things here include clothes, suitcases, sandals, school uniforms, blankets, and quilts.
Dr Ahmed Raza Khan, a BUMS practitioner who operates the mall, told PTI, “Unlike other places and occasions when woolen clothes are distributed to the needy, the recipient is generally hesitant to accept them. However, at Anokha Mall, the person taking the woolen clothes can easily enter as if he or she is entering a shopping mall, see and check the clothes, and then take them as per his choice.”
According to Khan, around 4,000 people collected clothes from this Anokha Mall in Lucknow last year alone and benefitted from the initiative. He also added that initially it was difficult to bring the donors on board but soon people saw this kind motive and came forward to help.
A proper record is maintained, as per the owner, of both the donors and collectors so that no one takes undue advantage of the needy. And a staff of four people is deployed from 10 am to 6 pm every day to oversee the functioning of the mall. He said that most of the donors are doctors and most of the persons who take the clothes are rickshaw pullers, laborers and slum-dwellers.
