Online help group stops services in UP, mentions ‘govt guidelines’
THE GROUP HAS ASKED EVERYONE SEEKING HELP FROM UP TO USE THE HELPLINES PROVIDED BY THE LOCAL GOVT FOR HELP
LUCKNOW: Days after chief minister Yogi Adityanath claimed that there is no shortage of oxygen and Remdesivir in Uttar Pradesh, a Twitterbased helpline handle Citizens’ Aid Collective (@CAidCollective) announced to discontinue their efforts to help people in need of oxygen and medicine in the state.
“With a very heavy heart, we would like to convey that due to recent guidelines by Uttar Pradesh government, we are no longer in a position to help you for cases related to medicine or oxygen from Uttar Pradesh. We request everyone seeking help from UP to use the helplines provided by the local governments for help or get in touch with your local authorities,” the group posted on its Twitter timeline on Monday.
The person who handles the group, on request of keeping his name anonymous, said, “The state government has claimed that there is no shortage of oxygen or medicine in UP. Further, the state police has announced to take action against people spreading rumours about shortages of drugs.
“I am afraid that this could be used against people arranging help in the state. This is why we have decided to stop our efforts in UP.”
The handle of the group was made around two weeks ago and, according to the man behind its operation, they received several phone calls from people seeking help regarding oxygen and Covid-19 related medicines from UP and other parts of the country.
“We arranged help for people looking for oxygen, medicines related to Covid-19, ambulance using online resources,” claimed the person managing the Twitter handle.
“We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the selflessness & compassion being shown by all the volunteers who are working with us in these difficult times, without any expectations, just to help another fellow human in need. People like these keep faith in humanity alive.
“We will be continuing the covid-aid operations for the rest of India, to the best of our capacity, keeping all the government guidelines in mind. Together with the rest of India, we hope to see brighter days soon,” the statement posted on Twitter read.