Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

‘My cousins didn’t die of corona, but lack of medical infrastruc­ture’

- Sugandha Rawal

It is really not a joke! We are seeing deaths all around us. MEERA CHOPRA, Actor

Losing two members of her family in the past 10 days has left actor Meera Chopra sad and angry. She blames lack of medical infrastruc­ture in the country for cutting short their life. “I lost two very close cousins not because of Covid-19 but because the medical infrastruc­ture has totally crumbled down. My first cousin couldn’t get an ICU bed in Bengaluru for almost two days,” she says.

Both her cousins were in their early 40s, and their passing has left behind a deep scar. “It is so sad and depressing that we could not do anything to save them,” she adds.

Attempting to give words to her feelings, she expresses, “It is like life is just slipping out of our hands.” At the moment, she is feeling a sense of “helplessne­ss and uselessnes­s” and a lingering fear of losing “more closed ones”, something which she hasn’t experience­d before.

“The sense of anger is so high that for the first time I am feeling that our country has gone to the dumps,” she asserts, adding, “I’m sorry to say that this government has failed to save the lives of people”.

The grief in her personal life as well as the one she stumbles upon through news and virtual space is taking a toll on her emotional and mental well-being. “At times to keep my sanity, I feel I should be away from Twitter, but then I feel maybe I can help somebody by forwarding a message to a wider audience,” confesses the actor, who was last seen in web series, The Tattoo Murders.

For Chopra, it is a constant battle to keep your sanity. She herself struggled with the virus last month. “I have never felt the way I felt when I was sick in my life. I am much better now,” she says.

Chopra just wants people to take all the precaution­s. “We need to wear masks. It is not a joke! We are seeing deaths all around us,” she concludes.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India