Small time Good Samaritans leave a big mark

NEW DELHI: In the midst of an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases across the city, as social media platforms emerge as a national helpline, several individual citizens and small-scale collectives have taken up the mantle of helping fellow residents in distress and responding to SOS messages sent by them seeking hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, plasma, and medicines.

For the past 10 days, Jamia

Nagar resident Shariq Hussain’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Hussain has been providing free oxygen cylinders to Covid-19 patients ever since cases in the city spiralled out of control.

“On a daily basis, 500-700 people are getting oxygen refilled from my house... I am trying to help as many people as we can,” said Hussain. The service is provided without any cost and the expenses.

In Pitampura, 26-year-old Shubham Chawla along with his mother Veenu and brother Anuj started Mom’s Kitchen — an inicrisis tiative that provides free meals to Covid patients. “My brotherin-law and grandmother are ill due to Covid... During a hospital visit, I saw the situation on the ground and the true extent of the hit me... My mother loves cooking, so I we started delivering free meals in nearby areas to help people,” said Chawla.

Yogita Bhayana, a child rights activist, works round the clock with her team of seven people to respond to SOS messages on Twitter seeking leads on oxygen cylinders, plasma, hospital beds, and medicines. “Our volunteers go to hospitals to check the availability of beds and wherever they get a lead they inform the patients. There are so many requests and we are unable to help everyone,” she said.

MANY CITIZENS AND SMALL-SCALE COLLECTIVES HAVE TAKEN TO HELPING OTHER PEOPLE IN DISTRESS IN THIS TIME OF CRISIS