E-Paper
Alumni goes beyond Sainik School in its Covid outreach
Ranchi The alumni association of Jharkhand’s Sainik School Tilaiya has launched a round-the-clock war room to provide help to former students and their families across the country as they battle the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic
Ranchi
The alumni association of Jharkhand’s Sainik School Tilaiya has launched a round-the-clock war room to provide help to former students and their families across the country as they battle the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Sainik School Tilaiyan Old Boys’ Association (SANTOBA) has spread its wings to include those affected on the campus as well as members of the public.
It all began a few days ago when news of death of two teachers at school – Mr Sanjay Singh and Mr K C Panda – came in. SANTOBA quickly assessed the situation and set up a virtual war room and volunteers from across the world started working to ensure that immediate help reached all sufferers, association members said.
“We launched a campaign to assess the needs while a fund-raiser was also started. The effort soon started yielding results,” said SANTOBA president Ravi Kishore, a Supreme Court lawyer based in Delhi.
The association got in touch with top officials of Jharkhand government, who extended prompt help and a health camp was organised on the campus.
Among others, Bihar chief secretary Tripurari Sharan, former Army commander Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan, former Supreme Court judge Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, senior Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Deepak Kumar – all alumni of Sainik School Tilaiya – also extended their help to the ongoing effort.
The school fraternity has lost eight former students to the pandemic, beside some family members. “We are passing through very difficult times. But we will not give up. Our school’s motto is ‘Forward Ever’ and we will live up to it,” said SANTOBA vice-president Ashish Sinha.
The association, with the help of its chapters in Delhi, Patna, Mumbai, Bengaluru and elsewhere, also formed a group of doctors to extend medical advice while another group of volunteers was tasked with providing leads on availability of oxygen cylinders, medicines, ambulances and hospital beds.
“The work has been continuing. We have decided not to rest,” said Amritesh Singh, SANTOBA’s secretary in Patna. The Patna team, under the leadership of CRPF commandant Munna Kumar Singh, has stepped out to provide face shields, masks and sanitiser bottles to the frontline corona warriors.
The effort in Ranchi is being led by school alumnus and vice-chancellor of Amity University (Ranchi) Dr Raman K Jha. Insurance professional Shishir Sandipan is monitoring the situation in the western region while SANTOBA secretary Narendra Mohan, Sneh Priya and Braj Kishore are coordinating the effort. The helpline is manned by Surya Prakash and Satwik Raj.
