ISSUE DATE: May 31, 2021
UPDATED: May 22, 2021 13:45 IST
Gurpreet Singh Rummy (top) with his Khalsa Help International team in Ghaziabad; Photo by Bandeep Singh
On the night of April 22, Gurpreet Singh Rummy, along with four fellow social workers, stood outside the Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurudwara in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, the streets around him a dystopian nightmare of death and helplessness. The 49-year-old president of Khalsa Help International (KHI), a social help group formed during the Covid lockdown in March 2020, was attempting to administer medical oxygen to a 55-year-old semi-conscious woman whose oxygen saturation level had dipped to 56 per cent. Reviving the woman not only meant they had saved a life, but also that they were one step ahead in putting into action an audacious plan to distribute free oxygen among Covid-19 patients right on the road.
WORLD / ASIA-PACIFIC
Variant found in 44 countries
By AFP – Reuters Published: May 12, 2021 08:18 PM The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that a variant of COVID-19 behind the acceleration of India s explosive outbreak has been found in dozens of countries all over the world.
Relatives attend to a Covid-19 patient receiving free oxygen, supplied by Khalsa Help International, at the Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurudwara in the Indirapurma township of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Tuesday. Photo: VCGThe UN health agency said the B.1.617 variant of COVID-19, first found in India in October, had been detected in more than 4,500 samples uploaded to an open-access database from 44 countries in all six WHO regions.
Here’s how these unsung heroes are helping society in the challenging times
SPOTLIGHT / Updated: May 7, 2021, 17:01 IST
Covid Heroes
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed us to the extreme. There are various people and companies that went above and beyond to do their bit. Below are a few people and companies who are saluted for their duties during these challenging times and have helped society through their work. 1. Smiles Foundation ( Dr Uma Dhiraj Ahuja)
Smiles Foundation ( Dr Uma Dhiraj Ahuja)
When the world is fighting a war against Covid, being compassionate is the need. True to its name, Smiles Foundation has been distributing essential supplies, foodgrains and cooked food packets to 500 people every day and served 1,40,000 families in the past 14 months. Smiles Foundation has initiated 8 ambulances services for the needy since last year’s lockdown and commenced oxygen cylinders free Seva along with CBD Gurudwara and also gave cylinders to other Gurudwaras in Navi Mumbai
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Thousands of Indians are rushing to join a volunteer effort to save lives from a devastating wave of Covid-19 infections, as a more contagious strain of the virus spreads.
Record rates of infection have overwhelmed hospitals, leading to horrific scenes as wards run out of oxygen, leaving patients to die while waiting for assistance.
I do not take any money; how can I ask them when they are in actual need.
Ravi Aggarwal, volunteer driver
For over a week, city after city has reported shortages of life-saving medicine and hospital beds as hundreds of patients gasped for breath outside overwhelmed clinics.