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Good Samaritans come to the rescue of Covid-19 patients in Odisha
Several good samaritans in Odisha are trying to provide help to Covid-19 patients, particularly a large number of patients who are in home isolation.
One in every two calls that young Sikh businessman Satbir Singh receives these days pertains to oxygen cylinders. For Bhubaneswar-based Singh, who started Sikh Aid, a non-profit organisation last year, the day starts with people calling up for oxygen and ends with lugging filled oxygen cylinders till late evening.
“While I feel happy taking cylinders to people who need it most, I don’t like when we have to say no to people as there not enough cylinders available. We have very few cylinders and I am unable to get any new ones due to restrictions imposed by the government. My team and I are trying my best,” said Singh. With Covid-19 cases escalating in Bhubaneswar, the demand for oxygen cylinders has gone up in the last fortnight.
“We have provided at least 60 cylinders in last fortnight,” said Singh, whose fellow volunteers have pooled in money to buy cylinders, fill them and provide them at the doorsteps of Covid-19 patients who need them. Sikh Aid members are also sending cooked meals to many patients who are living alone.
Like Singh, several good samaritans in Odisha are trying their best to provide help to Covid-19 patients, particularly a large number of patients who are in home isolation. Of the 55,000-odd positive patients, more than 40,000 are in home isolation who would need lunch and dinner at their homes. As Covid-19 cases surge in Odisha, several organisations, like Sikh Aid, are providing free lunch, dinner to Covid-19 patients while others are donating oxygen cylinders, masks and medicines to the patients.
In Rourkela, journalist Sanjiv Mohapatra and his family have been sending cooked lunch and dinners to families for the last three days. Rourkela municipal area has been the worst-hit in Sundargarh district that currently has a TPR of 43. With close to 700 positive patients in Rourkela, Mohapatra said he has been getting several calls from many Covid-19 positive patients for dinner and lunch.
“Many of the patients are senior citizens whose children live abroad. After they tested positive, they are unable to go to the kitchen. There are also many single parents who also require meals and we are sending them food. On average, we are sending 170 meals every day,” said Mohapatra, who wants to carry on the free meal scheme for at least a month.
In Bhubaneswar, where there are around 6,500 active Covid-19 cases, the So Am I (SAI) Foundation Trust and FICCI FLO have jointly started free lunch and dinner services for Covid-19 patients under home isolation and attendants of patients admitted in government-sponsored hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. For the past two days, Vandana Gupta from the SAI Foundation Trust has been sending 200 vegetarian lunch and dinner packets to senior citizens, small families as well as single parents who have tested positive.
“We have tied up with Pick Up Ninja to deliver hot lunch parcels at their doorsteps by 1.30 pm and dinner packets by 9.30 pm in the BMC area. Our volunteers will deliver in Cuttack and distribute food to the attendants of the patients across different hospitals. We are planning to provide food as long as the cases surge,” said Gupta.
The Narula family in Bhubaneswar runs vegetarian restaurants and is known for its special kulfis. The family has started a similar home delivery service of free lunch and dinner for Covid-19 patients. Nitesh Narula, who is looking after the home delivery, said as of now they are providing vegetarian meals to 200 people in Bhubaneswar. “Delivery is still an issue. We are in talks with delivery agencies like Rapido and then we can scale up. We are prepared to provide food to as many people as we can for the next few months,” he said.
