Sanjay Rai Sherpuria handing out free firewood from Lakdi Bank, which he set up to help people in need perform the last rites of their family members
Sanjay Rai Sherpuria, a 50-year-old social entrepreneur was in Delhi when he saw images of corpses, suspected to be infected by Covid-19, floating in the rivers of North India, or buried along their banks. He immediately shifted base to Uttar Pradesh, which was not only severely affected by the second Covid-19 wave, but also one through which many important rivers, including the Ganga, flow. He set up a Lakdi (firewood) Bank to help the poor and marginalised perform the last rites of their family members with dignity.