Suniel Shetty slams the system’s inefficiency to deal with Covid-19 second wave: Today, politicians have made us run for hospital beds and oxygen

Actor Suniel Shetty feels last year’s Covid-19 crisis was about hunger, job and salary, but today it is more about saving life and lack of medical care.

With the second wave of Covid-19 taking a deadly turn, it is all about coming forward to help save lives, but actor Suniel Shetty feels politicians of the country are not doing enough, and that is something one should remember while casting a vote next time.

Actor Suniel Shetty has pitched in to help by starting an initiative to provide free oxygen concentrators to patients battling Covid-19.

“Every politician who is coming onto the seat is thinking of the next five years, and how they will make money and not how they should give back to the system,” says Shetty, adding that there’s no time for the blame game. “We are the ones who elected them. (Today), they made us run for beds, they made us run for oxygen, and made us run for air. They made us run for everything.”

Soon, the tides will change, and tables will turn, and that is when, Shetty feels, one should be cautious, and “make them genuinely run and work for the votes”.

“Let’s vote good individuals, area wise. Let’s vote for a hardworking human being, who is making a difference. He could be across any political party,” he adds.

Accepting that the times are tough, the actor shares that it is important to “stick together as a family” to sail through these trying moments. “All of us are going through hell. And it is important to be there for each other, and everybody and anybody, who needs support in any way,” he says.

All one needs to do is “pick up the phone and ask for help” without any inhibition, shame or embarrassment.

“I have not heard a single ‘no’ till now, not because I am privileged, but because people genuinely want to help. And If it doesn’t happen, it is because it genuinely could not happen,” he admits.

Drawing a comparison between the pandemic situation last year and this year, Shetty explains, “Last time, it was about hunger, job and salary. This time, it is more about life. Earlier we heard that somebody here died, somebody there died… This time, you are seeing your city being hit, the people you know, and their relatives who are dying”.

The biggest difference, something which is still snuffing out lives at a fast rate, is the lack of oxygen. “In fact, we even lacked the tankers to be able to transport oxygen,” says the actor.

That is what motivated him to dive in, and extend support. It was on April 28 when he announced his initiative to provide free oxygen concentrators through social media, and he admits that the feedback has been overwhelming. Now, he is planning to expand it to other cities.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people have also been calling from places other than Mumbai and Bengaluru. Now, hopefully, we should start something soon in Hyderabad too,” he tells us, admiring the “unbelievable” power of social media in connecting people from all over.

His help has reached Delhi, too. “Today, I can’t do much in Delhi. But every second day, I’m calling people in Delhi asking for help. For the person to whom the help is delivered, it is Suniel Shetty who has made that call, but it is the person whom I am calling who is really helping out.”

And that’s reason why Shetty doesn’t want to take any credit at all. “We celebrities get written about all that crap, but I swear, and I’m not telling you for effect. I’ve not even helped for 0.1 percent of what even a basic worker is doing,” he ends.