NSCT initiative supports first bereaved family with ₹8 L aid | Lucknow News
Lucknow: Ashutosh Giri, 36, a native of Ghazipur, suffered from end-stage liver cirrhosis and lost his life on Oct 6. He left behind his wife Hema and two children, one seven-year-old, Dhruv and the other two-year-old Prithvi.A contractual private employee, Ashutosh was the sole breadwinner. “After he left us, there was a total void and we went blank. Help came from Vivekanand Bhai through the National Self Care Team (NSCT),” said Ashutosh’s brother-in-law Rameshwar Giri, a primary school teacher in Ghazipur. NSCT has been introduced in UP on the lines of the Teacher Self-Care Team (TSCT), a self-help group formed by a govt primary teacher Vivekanand Arya in 2020 during the Covid pandemic to support bereaved families of govt teachers. However, NSCT is for the common public.
“TSCT provides financial aid to govt teachers and not anyone else. There was a huge demand among the general public to bring a platform that supports grief-stricken families other than those of govt teachers. It was then that we decided to come up with NSCT,” Vivekanand said, adding that Ashutosh is the first beneficiary under NSCT, where registrations began on Oct 1.Vivekanand explained that from a shopkeeper to a private employee, anyone, excluding teachers, can be a member of NSCT. All they have to do is register at www.nsctup.com and contribute Rs 50. So far, there are 24,000 active members of NSCT. “We have committed Rs 10 lakh to each family in distress. We have been able to collect Rs 8 lakh for Ashutosh’s family. With five more days for the contributions, I am sure we will raise two lakh more,” he said.Vivekanand said this unique initiative is of the people, by the people, for the people. “We appeal to more and more people to register with NSCT so that they get help in dire situations. In addition to the loss of lives, we have also decided to support NSCT members in marrying off their daughters,” said Vivekanand.
