(Image source from: hindustantimes.com)

Murli Mohan Acharya, a landlord from Bhubaneswar, the neighbourhood of Berhampur's Somnath Nagar in Ganjam District has proved that he has a heart of gold.

During this ongoing pandemic where survival has become difficult, he waived off May's rent for all his 12 tenants.

His kindness and contribution are praiseworthy.

Besides, he distributed 25 kilograms (kg) of rice to each of them. His tenants survive as roadside snack vendors or they run small-scale businesses.

Acharya quoted "All my 12 tenants are facing a lot of economic hardship because their businesses are shut since end-March when nationwide lockdown restrictions were imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19 outbreak. Of the 12, three have left for their native villages along with families. I acceded to my tenants' request and waived off their rent for May. I also gave each family 25 kg of rice to tide over the crisis, as the state government's help has been few and far between.”

Acharya was complimented by Berhampur sub-collector Shinde Dattatreya Bhausaheb for his generous contribution and this could set as an example for other landlords too

He said "We can change our society in a big way, even if 1% of landlords are willing to help out their tenants like what Acharya did."

The CM of Odisha had requested all the landlords to waive off or collect less rent from the tenants for three months due to the lockdown.

He even requested landlords not to ask tenants to vacate for non-payment of rents if they are suffering due to a healthcare emergency.

Taking this into consideration, two landlords in Bhubaneswar had waived off rent for their tenants in the month of April.

A landlord named Prashant Kumar Shreechandan from Rasulgarh, didn’t take rent from 26 tenants and this reduced 62,000 from his income. He promised to do the same if lockdown extended in May too.

Another landlord from Bhubaneswar's Palasuni locality, Jitu Jena, didn’t take rent from his tenants in the month of April.

"We're united in trying to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We need to fight each other amid this unprecedented crisis," said Jena.

While this is a kind gesture of three landlords, there are insensitive people too.

For instance, a man from coastal Balasore district suffering from cancer was not allowed to get into this house because the landlord found it risky to allow him and his family members after they returned from Bhubaneshwar where there are many COVID cases. This man had to be out of his house for eight hours.

When the police interfered in this case, the man was allowed in and his sons were asked to stay away for 14 days.

Similarly, many people across India are not allowing their tenants into their homes if they suspect the family members of having COVID-19 or even if their tenants traveled to a place where this virus is spreading rapidly.

By Neha Makhija