Today, we are telling a story of a boy from Delhi who is helping of needy people in this Corona period. Navneet Sinha is staying in Delhi since 2010 and people don’t know him and obviously because neither he is any public figure nor any celebrity.
Talking with Business Khabar, Navneet Said, Everyone knows from what crisis our country is dealing with currently. India is fighting a Bio war from China-originated virus since March 2020 and we seeing the worst on the name of Lockdown. Sometimes, migration of people from National Capital to financial capital and almost all developed cities to UP, Bihar, Bengal. Due to sudden lockdown and CM Arvind Kejriwal’s announcement that people of UP Bihar should leave Delhi, they were forced to return back to their pertaining villages because of loss of their jobs and daily wages. The whole world saw how they started their journeys of 1000 to some 1500Km on highways with their families by their foot because of the closure of all transports including Railways and inter-state buses. We saw them walking, getting exhausted, dying on their way home because it was not easy to walk for 1000km with full luggage. A girl on a bicycle paddled 1200 km with her father sitting in the rear and reached her village in Bihar, whole world saw these never forgetting scenes.
Navneet Further Said, It was like another partition after 1947. When Govt was looking helpless and actually left people dying on roads, some people came forward and tried to help those migrants. They started private bus services, some were providing food to them but all help was proving “Drop in the Ocean“. That was the first time I too decided to distribute some food among those migrants laborers and I did for two days. I distributed some 80 food packets cooked and packed on my own to some of them.
But again, due to strict lockdown, I didn’t continue that drive and also those migrants were in lakhs and I was not able to feed everyone. Private buses were stopped at state Borders and they were seized because of not having the permit in lockdown. Our so-called political parties were busy in doing politics and blame game over the situation and deaths. After some time and a half months, Govt started some special trains for those migrant laborers and gradually the situation came to normal.
Habitually, we forgot those scenes gradually and Covid’s situation also started coming to normal. Govt claimed that they are preparing vaccines, they have equipped hospitals with more ICU beds and lots of ventilators and we don’t have to worry about this Corona Virus. So we all started discussing that lockdown was because Govt needed some time to get equipped and by July-Aug 2020 we started living a normal life. Although Govt kept raising the alarms from campaigns like “Jab Tak Davaee Nahin Tab Tak Dhilaee Nahin ” and “Do Gaj Dooree Mask Hai Jarooree ” but as usual, you can’t take India out of an Indian. Our habit of considering ourselves “Khalifa” will always exist. So we started moving in markets and public places like Coronavirus has gone forever. And that time also, we were hearing some 100-200-300 cases from any city that has a population of 25 Lacs to 2 crores. So it was a negligible figure.
And after Dusshera and Diwali, we started living an almost completely normal life. Even after repeated warnings from Govt, people removed their masks and forgot social distancing norms. Everything became normal.
Navneet Further Said, In Dec 2020, the total cases were some 300 in Delhi. Suddenly in March, during the Holi festival, Govt again started issuing warnings not to gather at public places and not to play Holi publicly. Most of the people including me celebrated Holi at home only. In the start of April 2021, cases started rising suddenly in Mumbai then Delhi, Bangalore and all over India. And that too not 300-400 per day cases. This time it was like 20000-25000 cases per day and people started dying within the span of 2 days. Yes, it was and is Covid’s second wave that started targeting every one of every age. Oh, I forgot to mention that, in the first wave it was mostly attacking old age people suffering from different diseases and with weaker immunity. But the second wave started hitting people of young age and all of sudden there’s a panic situation started. No hospital beds, no oxygen Cylinders, no ICU beds nothing.
So, the Govt who was claiming that it has equipped hospitals with all necessary life-saving equipment failed suddenly. Oxygen demand in Delhi started rising like never before. Same situation in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Bihar, UP, Kerala and almost all India. The sudden surge in no of daily cases and no of deaths started rising. People queueing up in the line of hospitals, oxygen Refill Centres, crematorium grounds. When centre asked state governments to handle the situation and use lockdown as last option, state govts imposed lockdown. But then too, doing nothing. People were dying, not getting beds in hospitals. Incompetent state governments started blame game over centre. It was the time when we actually saw Govt giving up.
One day I saw a message in Twitter that a family of 6 people all Covid Positive and two were on dialysis needs oxygen Cylinders at their home in Indirapuram. Then I called them and assured them that I’ll help them in the best possible way. I arranged some portable Oxygen Cannisters and got it delivered to them on the same day. They paid me for Oxygen Cannisters and I delivered them for free. So this was the time when I felt that I’ve to do whatever I can do for people in this tough time. It’s time to stand up with the people for the people.
So I started arranging portable Oxygen Cannisters and started posting it on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and asked people to share on their walls for better reach.
When I started this drive, some of my friends came forward and joined me virtually by donating some amounts to me. I kept a threshold of ₹100 because it was not any money-making scheme or I was not asking for donations for doing any fraud. I kept complete transparency in my drive and posted everything publicly on my Facebook timeline.
At that time only, I started getting news and daily updates that ambulances in Delhi are charging ₹15000 to ₹20000 for some 10 kms. Obviously, they were taking advantage of the situation. Our PM said during the first wave “Hamein Is Aapada Ko Avasar Mein Badalana Hai ” and those ambulances took this thing very seriously.
So in the meantime, I started one more drive that I’ll give a free ride to Hospital to people who can’t afford overpriced ambulances and don’t have their own conveyance.
I updated my free ride drive on all social media platforms and surprisingly, I started getting so much of appreciation from renowned personalities like Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga Ji, Harish Khurana Ji, Richa Anirudh Ji. I also donated blood to a non-Covid unknown patient when I saw his SOS call on Twitter. Yes, donated blood because I’m not eligible to donate plasma as I have never got Covid Positive.
In the meantime, I also started keeping a record of vacant oxygen beds and ICU beds by calling all the hospitals so that I could respond to any SOS call on any social media platform. I’ve never seen so a helpless timeline of Twitter where everyone is screaming for help, for beds, for oxygen, for plasma, for food. Oxygen, food, are our basic rights and if we are not getting it, it’s a collective failure as well as an individual.
I forgot to mention earlier that when I reached to people who needed Oxygen cans, the feeling of relief on their faces gave me more strength and motivation. I never thought in that way, but when I say the sign of relief, it gave me altogether a different feeling, positive energy. So I kept continuing my drive and still, I’m giving my services to people who are in need.
Now the oxygen supply is almost normal in Delhi but there is another problem. In a family, when all people are getting Covid Positive and unable to cook, how could they manage. So simultaneously with Oxygen canisters delivery and free hospital ride, I started one more campaign that if any family who can’t cook because of being Covid Positive, just call me or message me and I’ll deliver home-cooked food to you. I always post all the updates on my Facebook not because of PR, but to create awareness so that more and more people should come forward and help each other. Govt has given up and we are on our own. In this tough time, when even relatives and families are turning away to help, we have to stand together and help our people. I’ve got everything in Delhi, my professional life, my house, my car so it’s time to give the city whatever I can do. And I’ll keep doing all these things till the situation doesn’t get back to normal.
I request you to stand up and join hands to help more and more people, but yes, help with following all safety norms. Mask up, sanitize your hands, maintain social distancing and let’s work for our city.
If you need any help from Navneet, You can contact on his number – 7781828384