Quietly helping the fight against Covid Unsung heroes

Unheralded but quietly going about with whatever assistance they can to help the people during this uncertain times of the pandemic. They are not folks who people will automatically recognise on the road and they certainly do not announce their arrival or departure with loud sirens and red beacons fitted on their vehicles. Even as Manipur is reeling under the continuous spike of Covid positive cases, in three figure marks, and the resultant pressure on the hospitals, particularly on RIMS and JNIMS not to speak of the beeline at Shija hospital and Raj Medicity, to name just two private hospitals, some concerned, ordinary citizens of the land have taken it upon themselves to chip in and see how they can help the State augment her oxygen stock. Crowdfunding is one way they have taken recourse to and last heard, one such venture has been able to procure some oxygen filled cylinders from outside the State and the same are being despatched to Manipur. A young man, active on the social media has been at the forefront in highlighting the efforts that have gone in to collect funds from the crowd and making sure how collective efforts can go some way in meeting the fight posed by the virus, under the banner, Manipur Oxygen Cylinder Fund. No publicity drive, in the sense of going for paid publicity, but just highlighting the good works quietly and this is something to be noted. Giving substance to the understanding of putting up a united fight against Coronavirus and this is the way to go about it. This is not all. A number of voluntary organisations, young people coming together under one umbrella and distributing face masks, sanitisers etc to the common people are all instances of putting up a collective fight against the virus and this is all about the goodness of mankind coming to the fore at times of adversity such as the present. It is also heartening to note that young climate activist Licipriya Kangujam has also pitched in and is in the process of shipping 100 oxygen concentrators to Manipur in the face of the pandemic.
Young medical professionals based outside the country but hailing from Manipur are also giving their inputs on how to take the fight to the virus more effectively and here is a case of the people as a whole joining hands and rising to the challenges of the time. It is along this line that the call of Thangmeiband AC MLA Kh Joykisan for each MLA to donate Rs 20 lakh from their local area development fund to procure medical oxygen gains credence. It is another thing that so far the State Government has not responded to the suggestion put forth by the Congress MLA, but a line of thought has already been aired and it will be interesting to see and hear how the other MLAs feel. The goodwill gesture from the ordinary citizens of the land, the ideas pitched in by elected members of the land are all instances which should not blow over the heads of the Government and the people at large. On the one hand there are committed ordinary people who have stepped forward to contribute whatever they can and on the other side there are some who continue to flout the laid down SOPs with impunity. This goes against the understanding of putting up a collective fight against the pandemic. Now with experts predicting that there will be a third wave, the collective fight as understood in the present context should go on and maybe take it a notch or two higher.