Sanitizing lanes, places of worship, doing her bit in Covid times

After Imran Saifi hit the headlines earlier this month when she was seen sanitizing places of worship in Delhi, it is now Uzma Syed Parveen who has taken up the task in Lucknow.

Uzma had a tough time convincing her husband and in-laws to carry out sanitization during Ramzan.

A graduate from Lucknow University and a mother of two, she said: "But seeing the rise in Corona cases, they agreed and I started off. I began by sanitizing my own lane in Saadatganj area. I was wearing a burqa and a mask so not many people recognized me but there were still many people staring at me. There were even some men who ticked me off for doing what was essentially a 'man's work'.

Uzma also sanitizes religious shrines, irrespective of the faith and moves to new areas every day in the old city.

"I have sanitized temples, mosques and gurudwaras and the people there have appreciated my efforts. What matters most to me is the satisfaction that I am getting by doing this. This is my contribution to controlling the pandemic," she said.

Uzma has used her personal savings to buy things needed for sanitization and has no regrets. "After all I am spending my savings for the welfare of the people and that is what Allah wants," she said.