It’s unforgivable: Amyra on medical infrastructure failure

Having battled Covid-19 in the past year, Amyra Dastur understands the scare people all across the country are dealing with amid this second wave of the pandemic. The actor laments the mismanagement of medical facilities, which is leading to the loss of so many lives on an everyday basis.

“It’s unforgivable. It’s as if lives have no value anymore,” she rues, adding, “We have the second largest population in the world, and we should have the medical infrastructure to support our people in dire times. Reading articles on overworked crematoriums, patients dying due to the lack of oxygen cylinders and hospitals being always too full to admit patients, is plain heartbreaking.”

Dastur, 27, notes that this wave has hit India more than 2020, and calls it “a very scary time”. Though she’s trying to do her bit by helping people via social media, she admits having to go on such platforms to help someone feels “so wrong”. “Facilities should have been there and we should have been prepared for this crisis,” she adds.

That said, she agrees that social media is the only useful option now, to reach out and come to the rescue of as many people as possible. “Presently, the thought is to survive this crisis. People aren’t getting the necessary information they need. They’ve turned to social media because that’s the place left for some help, and even then, trying to find verified leads takes up time and is frustrating,” she points out.

Dastur further shares that she couldn’t bear to watch people feeling so helpless and wanted to help, so she found this to be the “best and safest” way to do her bit.

“It was tough in the beginning. Getting so many DMs and requests for help, I began feeling low because I got more and more [of them] every day. But then, people got back and thanked me saying they got the help they needed. Knowing at least someone managed to get help, motivated me even more. I will keep pushing limits until all the DMs are answered,” concludes the actor, who recently returned to Mumbai after shooting a music video in Kashmir.

Facilities should have been there and we should have been prepared for this crisis. AMYRA DASTUR Actor