Updated:
January 30, 2021 02:27 IST
It is an attempt to allow people across the country to grieve and possibly even heal together, says NGO volunteer
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Workers in protective suits prepare to cremate a person who died of COVID-19 at Nigam Bodh Ghat in New Delhi on May 29, 2020. | Photo Credit:
PTI
It is an attempt to allow people across the country to grieve and possibly even heal together, says NGO volunteer Photographs, obituaries and blogs written by relatives or friends of COVID-19 victims. An online national memorial, conceived for those who died of COVID-19 across the country, goes live on Saturday, an initiative by a Kolkata-based NGO comprising medical fraternity and others.
“Unique venture is an attempt to allow people across India to grieve,” says volunteer
In a unique tribute, an online national memorial for those who died due to COVID-19 across the country has been conceived. The website will go live from January 30 and is a venture by a Kolkata-based NGO consisting of medical staff and others.
“COVID-19 snatched the opportunity for families to bid a traditional goodbye to their loved ones who they lost to the virus, so this unique venture is an attempt to allow people across the country to grieve and possibly even heal together. Grief is a very private emotion but, through this website, we hope people will realise that they are not alone,” said Abhijit Chowdhury, volunteer with Covid Care Network (CCN), an NGO led by a group of doctors spearheading this initiative.
The number of Covid-19 cases has come down and two vaccines against the disease are ready to roll out, but public health experts are worried because people are dropping their guard in the fight against the coronavirus.
At most public places across Calcutta, from the zoo and the Victoria Memorial to the airport, Metro saw on Monday evidence of people’s collective callousness. Hundreds of people were without masks and at the airport, many passengers were queuing up just like old times, almost every one breathing on the neck of the person in front.
“The number of cases may have gone down but we have to keep in mind that the pandemic is far from over. We have to look around and learn from experiences of countries like the UK and Thailand, where there is a resurgence of Covid after a lull,” said Abhijit Chowdhury, a public health expert who is at the forefront of the Mamata Banerjee government’s fight against Covid.
2020 is gone, Covid-19 is not.Vaccine or no vaccine, the mask is imperative.
A group comprising doctors, public health experts and people from various other walks of life came together on the last day of the year to warn Calcuttans against any complacency in the fight against the pandemic.
The group undertook tram rides and organised street play to convey their message. The first meeting point was the Esplanade tram depot. The programme was flagged off with a street play. The participants then boarded a tram, decked out with posters and images of masked faces and sanitisers. A similar drive will be organised on Friday as well.